Voices & Views: Sylvester Mora
Sylvester Mora is a 24-year old Biological Sciences Student in his first semester at Kapiʻolani...
Read MorePosted by Shawna Takaki | Oct 16, 2023 | Voices & Views |
Sylvester Mora is a 24-year old Biological Sciences Student in his first semester at Kapiʻolani...
Read MorePosted by Shawna Takaki | Oct 4, 2023 | Word on the Street |
By Shawna Takaki | Staff Writer Word on the Street: What is a fear you have into adulthood?...
Read MorePosted by Shawna Takaki | Oct 3, 2023 | Campus Features, Clubs |
People gather at the Solar Canoe Workshop held by the Engineering Club last semester. (Photo...
Read MorePosted by Shawna Takaki | Sep 25, 2023 | Voices & Views |
Joseph Overton is a professor at Kapi‘olani Community College. He’s been working at the...
Read MorePosted by Shawna Takaki | Sep 14, 2023 | Opinions, Reviews |
I went back and watched “Titanic” for the first time to figure out the reason for its...
Read MorePosted by Shawna Takaki | Sep 13, 2023 | Opinions, Word on the Street |
By Shawna Takaki | Staff Writer Word on the Street: What is the worst Zodiac sign? Esther CAge:...
Read MorePosted by Shawna Takaki | Sep 5, 2023 | Voices & Views |
By Shawna Takaki | Staff Writer Nicole Nakagawa is an 18-year-old second-year student who lives in...
Read MorePosted by Shawna Takaki | May 16, 2023 | Voices & Views |
Alyssa Lai is a 32-year-old who graduated with an associates degree in Hospitality & Tourism from Kapiʻolani Community College last Friday at Commencement.
Lai attended Hawai‘i Pacific University in 2010 then dropped out due to difficulties in balancing work with school. She had been working full time.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lai decided to return to her education.
“I needed something I was accomplishing for myself,” said Lai. “During COVID, I didn’t have anything, and that kind of scared me.”
She enjoyed her experience at the college, finding that the support of faculty, staff, and classmates helped her to succeed at college while working full time at Hilton Grand Vacations.
“It was a long journey, but … I got back on track,” said Lai.
Lai is of Native Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Portugese, and Korean heritage.
She brought to Commencement a decorated cap highlighting her status as an indigenous woman with a degree, as her heritage was important to her, and she felt pride in being the first graduate of her family.
“Joining KCC, I was able to connect more with my Native Hawaiian culture,” said Lai. “I connected with the Hoʻopika Program just to understand more of my indigenous culture.”
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