{"id":95777,"date":"2019-05-06T12:34:15","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T22:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=95777"},"modified":"2019-05-16T15:33:28","modified_gmt":"2019-05-17T01:33:28","slug":"nontraditional-uh-student-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2019\/05\/06\/nontraditional-uh-student-returns\/","title":{"rendered":"Nontraditional <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> student returns to beat the odds"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_93806\"  width=\"620\" height=\"349\"  data-origwidth=\"620\" data-origheight=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YjzKcu0Ekro?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"Nontraditional University of Hawaii student returns to beat the odds\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p>Whether it\u2019s to learn new skills, to find a new career path or finish what they started earlier, nontraditional students, often referred to as returning adult students, are the new fresh faces on college campuses.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tehani Keanini<\/strong>, originally from Waimea on <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> island, is one of them. On May 10, 2019, she graduated from <a href=\"https:\/\/windward.hawaii.edu\/\">Windward Community College<\/a> with her associate\u2019s degree. <\/p>\n<p>But the path toward a college degree wasn\u2019t always so clear for the 34-year-old single mother of two children (ages 3 and 13).<\/p>\n<h2>Working smarter, not harder<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_95823\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-95823\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-keanini-tehani-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Tehani Keanini\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-95823\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-keanini-tehani-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-keanini-tehani-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-keanini-tehani-630x353.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-keanini-tehani.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-95823\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tehani Keanini<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Keanini enrolled in college after graduating from Kamehameha Schools Kap\u0101lama as a boarder student. She decided it wasn\u2019t for her and dropped out early to enter the workforce and support her family.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I was burnt out academically,&rdquo; said Keanini. &ldquo;I was working in the hotel industry and making money, it was great.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But after working for 10 years, she wanted more. She wanted better.<\/p>\n<p>As the sole provider for her family, Keanini\u2019s work schedule barely afforded her any time off to spend with her son. After she had her daughter three years ago she was even more motivated to work smarter, not harder. She then made the decision to continue her academics at Windward Community College to build them a better future.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It wasn\u2019t until 2017, 14 years later after graduating high school, that I was like, &lsquo;I&#8217;m finally ready. This is what I want to do,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Keanini. &ldquo;This is the pathway I want to take to get me where I want to be and that\u2019s why I started.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Balancing act<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-keanini-tehani-3-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Tehani Keanini with her children.\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-95830\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-keanini-tehani-3-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-keanini-tehani-3-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-keanini-tehani-3-630x353.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-keanini-tehani-3.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Balancing school and home life hasn\u2019t been easy, but this time Keanini was determined to persevere. <\/p>\n<p>Her daily schedule begins at 6 a.m. when she gets her kids ready for school and drops them off, one in <span aria-label=\"Kaneohe\">K&#257;ne&#699;ohe<\/span> and one in Kailua, before coming to Windward <abbr title=\"community college\">CC<\/abbr> to attend classes and focus on her studies. At night, she\u2019s in bed with her kids at 8:30 p.m. and naps with them until 11 p.m. before she\u2019s up and running again. &ldquo;I\u2019ll do homework until 3 a.m., take another quick nap and wake up at 6 a.m. to start breakfast, lunch and snacks for the day. Then hana hou&#8212;rinse, repeat and redo,&rdquo; she explained.<\/p>\n<p>Keanini credits <a href=\"https:\/\/windward.hawaii.edu\/paipai\/\">Paipai o <span aria-label=\"Koolau\">Ko&#699;olau<\/span><\/a>, a scholarship program that paid for her first-year tuition at Windward <abbr>CC<\/abbr>, for helping her return to college. &ldquo;The whole reason I decided to enroll at Windward was because of the program,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It was a great financial relief to get me started on my academic journey, and they provided counseling and resources throughout the year that helped me stay on track&#8230;it was wonderful.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Keanini added, &ldquo;Everything I can possibly think of has been available at Windward <abbr>CC<\/abbr>, especially the teachers who I\u2019ve connected with who have personally put in the time and effort to help me with my academic journey, give tips and encouragement because sometimes I\u2019m like, &lsquo;I can\u2019t do it!&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>End game<\/h2>\n<p>It was at Windward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> where Keanini discovered that she really enjoyed accounting. She will be transferring to the University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/shidler.hawaii.edu\/\">Shidler College of Business<\/a> in the fall to pursue a bachelor\u2019s degree in accounting. Her long term goals include earning a certified public accountant license and a masters in business administration. <\/p>\n<p>As an adult student who has made the leap, she shares some advice to others who may be contemplating going back to school.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Don\u2019t be scared. I know it\u2019s overwhelming to think about when you\u2019re starting your journey to come back to college,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Whether you\u2019re an older adult, nontraditional, you have kids, whatever it is, don\u2019t be scared.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/uhcc.hawaii.edu\/comeback\/\">Come back to college and earn your degree.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-keanini-tehani-2.jpg\" alt=\"Keanini at Windward CC\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-95833\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-keanini-tehani-2.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-keanini-tehani-2-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-keanini-tehani-2-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tehani Keanini is a 34-year-old single mom of two who will earn her college degree from Windward Community College 16 years after graduating from high school.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,12],"tags":[234,146,71,9,56,66],"class_list":["post-95777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","category-video","tag-commencement","tag-shidler-college-of-business","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uh-manoa","tag-video-2","tag-windward-community-college","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95777","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=95777"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96458,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95777\/revisions\/96458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}