{"id":164022,"date":"2022-08-23T15:34:49","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T01:34:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=164022"},"modified":"2022-08-24T11:43:47","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T21:43:47","slug":"uh-manoa-celebrates-first-day-of-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2022\/08\/23\/uh-manoa-celebrates-first-day-of-school\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa celebrates return with first day of school event"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"Marching<\/p>\n

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa<\/a> kicked off the first day of the fall 2022 semester with a big celebration to welcome all students back to campus for the first time since March 2020 and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\"Provost<\/p>\n

An estimated 3,500 students, faculty, staff and community members attended the Welina M\u0101noa: First Day of School Kick-Off Event at Campus Center, Legacy Path and the Kuykendall Hall lawn in the heart of the M\u0101noa campus.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of volunteers staffed more than 100 booths creating a one-stop resource fair for students that featured clubs, activities, resources, programs, student organizations, games and prize giveaways along with delicious food and music courtesy of KTUH<\/abbr>, UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s student-operated radio station. The late afternoon event was capped off by a well-received performance from the UH<\/abbr> band, cheerleaders and Rainbow Warrior Dancers, where students learned the UH<\/abbr> fight song.<\/p>\n

\"Leah
Leah Camphor<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n
\"Bobby
Bobby Jones<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n
\"Students<\/div>\n

“This is honestly a lot of fun, I am having a great time,” said freshman Leah Camphor<\/strong>. “I didn\u2019t know there was a space flight club and I just joined the powerlifting club. I don\u2019t powerlift, but here I am now.”<\/p>\n

“Lots of nice people, everyone is really welcoming,” said fellow freshman Bobby Jones<\/strong>. “I visited all the booths, there is a lot of community, a lot of support, just trying to reach out to the students, and help them out anyway possible.”<\/p>\n

The last Welina M\u0101noa event was held in 2019. Along with the start of the school year, this year\u2019s event also celebrated a return to normal campus life that had been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

“The entire campus has come back in person,” said UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Provost Michael Bruno<\/strong>. “We have been waiting two-and-half years for this. Everybody is excited. Spirits are high.”<\/p>\n

Camphor, who just moved to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> from Maryland to attend UH<\/abbr>, could not agree more.<\/p>\n

“It feels amazing because junior and senior years [of high school] were both affected by COVID so having a freshman year in college at a campus like this one is honestly amazing,” said Camphor.<\/p>\n

The annual event is organized by the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Success<\/a> in collaboration with more than 100 other UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa units, clubs, organizations, etc.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An estimated 3,500 students, faculty, staff and community members attended the Welina M\u0101noa: First Day of School Kick-Off Event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[9],"class_list":["post-164022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t