Polynesian voyaging navigator, educator and University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo alumnus Chad Kālepa Baybayan delivered the keynote address at UH Hilo’s 2017 fall commencement on December 16. Baybayan urged the graduates not to be observers, to get into the race and paddle and be like the oceanic mariners who sailed into the Pacific and discovered the stars.
Baybayan currently serves as navigator-in-residence at the ʻImiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaiʻi, developing wayfinding activities, curriculum and educational materials that engage individuals of all ages. He most recently took part in the three-year Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, which wrapped up in June 2017 after traveling 42,000 nautical miles, visiting 150 ports in more than 20 countries and training a new generation of navigators, educators, scientists and community stewards.
