University of Hawaiʻi President Wendy Hensel’s first community college visit was blessed by rain. About 40 Kapiʻolani Community College students, faculty and staff held a welcome protocol (welcoming ceremony) in the elements, to the sound of pahu (drums).
Lochlen Ajimine, one of the students who participated in the welcome protocol, said, “She was very receptive and she really enjoyed our performance and she was very immersed in the experience, and I think she’s going to be a really good addition to the program.”
Throughout the day, Hensel interacted with more than 200 members of the Kapiʻolani CC community. Her visit included a campus tour and open forum, and meetings with groups such as student leaders, faculty senate, ʻAha Kalāualani, staff council and campus leadership.
“The community colleges are an access point and provide the support that so many students need,” Hensel said. “Here there’s 45% that are first generation, so that alone speaks to the transformative nature of a place like Kapiʻolani, and it’s a wonderful place.”
She toured health-industry related programs, such as radiologic technology, emergency medical technician and dental assisting, and stopped at Māla Māunauunu, a garden that serves as an outside classroom for hands-on ʻāina-based learning, through Native Hawaiian plant cultivation.
“We shared with her that we’re the only campus named after a Hawaiian aliʻi (royal) and what that means to us and how we take our kuleana to Hawaiʻi and Native Hawaiians very seriously because of that namesake,” said Chancellor Misaki Takabayashi.
Hensel’s day concluded with a reception with community members and external partners at Kapiʻolani CC’s Culinary Institute of the Pacific. She is visiting UH’s 10 campuses and six education centers in her first 90 days.
For more information about Hensel, visit the Meet President Hensel webpage. She is also active on social media and encourages the UH community to connect with her on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.
President Hensel’s campus/education centers remaining schedule:
- Monday, February 3 – Leeward CC
- Wednesday, February 5 – Leeward CC Waiʻanae Moku
- Monday, February 10 – Lānaʻi Education Center
- Tuesday, February 11 – Honolulu CC
- Tuesday, February 18 – UH Hilo
- Monday, February 24 – Hawaiʻi CC
- Tuesday February 25 – Kō Education Center and Hawaiʻi CC Pālamanui
- Monday, March 3 – UH Maui College and Maui University Center
- Tuesday, March 4 – Molokaʻi Education Center
- Wednesday, March 5 – Kauaʻi CC and Kauaʻi University Center
- Monday, March 24 – Windward CC
For more information about President Hensel, visit the Meet President Hensel webpage. She is also active on social media and encourages the UH community to connect with her on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.
