{"id":118048,"date":"2020-05-11T14:50:05","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T00:50:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=118048"},"modified":"2024-03-15T14:55:03","modified_gmt":"2024-03-16T00:55:03","slug":"alejado-amos-thank-uh-west-oahu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/05\/11\/alejado-amos-thank-uh-west-oahu\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduating seniors say ‘Mahalo’ to UH<\/abbr> West O\u02bbahu"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"LeianaMarie
LeianaMarie Alejado and Anthony Amos will receive their college degrees from UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> this semester.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>–West Oʻahu<\/span><\/a> has proven to be one of the most significant stepping stones for two graduating seniors.<\/p>\n

LeianaMarie Alejado<\/strong> and Anthony Amos<\/strong> were among more than 370 students who received their college degrees from UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> this spring semester. While Alejado and Amos traveled different paths to graduation, both were similarly led to life-changing self-discovery they say they owe to the university.<\/p>\n

“This campus, and Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> itself, is filled with a rich culture and many opportunities to push yourself to not just success, but enlightenment,” Amos said. “I discovered who I am and who I want to be during my years here.”<\/p>\n

“I believe it is my purpose in life to inspire and educate those around me,” Alejado said. “I would have never come to this conclusion if I went to another institution.”<\/p>\n

Alejado\u2019s gratitude<\/h2>\n

Alejado, who graduated with a bachelor of arts in humanities with a concentration of Hawaiian Pacific studies<\/a>, was accepted into UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s educational administration graduate<\/a> program.<\/p>\n

Her greatest post-college goal is to dive further into her senior project which aimed to provide a space for indigenous students on campus to ensure their success and complete their educational journeys through the power of intentional community building.<\/p>\n

Rouel Velasco<\/strong>, director of student life at UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span>, described Alejado as “a driven student leader” who is passionate about social justice work, specifically focusing on Hawaiian affairs while uplifting others.<\/p>\n

“She is studious, committed to a vibrant student experience, and exudes so much aloha in all her interactions with peers, staff and faculty,” Velasco said.<\/p>\n

Alejado noted that she owes everything that she is to UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span>\u2019s faculty and staff, who not only educated her, but helped raise her.<\/p>\n

“Graduating is so important to me because it is as if I am being inducted into a legacy of intelligent, culturally aware, and inspiring people who took me under their wings and showed me the power of being part of a beloved community,” Alejado said.<\/p>\n

\"girls
Alejado, standing second from right, at the NASPA<\/abbr> Western Regional Conference 2020 in Oregon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Amos says ‘Mahalo!’<\/h2>\n

Amos, who came from Germany, is a self-described “military brat” who embraced the Hawaiian culture and all that UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> has to offer. He graduated with a bachelor\u2019s degree in social sciences<\/a>, with concentrations in sociology and political science.<\/p>\n

He plans to move to Washington D.C.<\/abbr>, where he hopes to get an internship at the U.S.<\/abbr> Capitol and become more involved in political processes.<\/p>\n

“Once I have more experience, I will strive to expand upon my political career,” said Amos, “and, as bold as this is, push to become president one day—or at least change how that process works.”<\/p>\n

Christy Mello<\/strong>, assistant professor of anthropology, said she is grateful to have had Amos as a student, mentee and research assistant.<\/p>\n

“He is a serious scholar, brilliant, a leader, exudes positive energy and will make a difference in this world with his drive and passion for social justice,” Mello said.<\/p>\n

What Amos gained was something that he could find only at UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span>.<\/p>\n

“Mahalo to all those who contributed to my growth and for everyone\u2019s hard work during such trying times,” Amos said. “You all made Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> feel like home and provided me with my understanding of my kuleana.”<\/p>\n

Go to E Kamakani Hou<\/em> for more details on the graduates\u2019 journeys and advice to other undergraduates.<\/a><\/p>\n

—By Zenaida Serrano Arvman<\/em><\/p>\n

\"student
Amos, kneeling on the far right, played on the team that won the IM<\/abbr> LeeSports Flag Football League championship in the fall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LeianaMarie Alejado and Anthony Amos express their gratitude for the university as they move forward in their college careers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[90,234,906,1435,1026,59,1626],"class_list":["post-118048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-alumni","tag-commencement","tag-e-kamakani-hou","tag-hawaiian-pacific-studies","tag-social-science","tag-uh-west-oahu","tag-women-of-uh","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118048"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118108,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118048\/revisions\/118108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}