For Waimanālo residents Abraleen Keliinui and Dominick Shortall, WCC’s 2012 graduation ceremony will be especially sweet. They were chosen as the two commencement speakers this year and both will be sharing their stories and words of wisdom on May 12 at 1 p.m. in Palikū Theatre.

Keliinui, who has been attending WCC on and off for 19 years, feels all her hard work has finally paid off. She intends to pursue her bachelor’s degree in social work at UH Mānoa this fall, with her ultimate goal of receiving her master’s degree.

In 20 years, future WCC students will be able to see what life was like in 2012, thanks to a time capsule containing artifacts reflecting our current culture.


Smartphones? iPods with music? Photos? News articles? The time capsule will be a way to preserve a moment in time so others can have a piece of history for the future. (Check Page 11 of this issue of Ka ‘Ohana to see what some WCC students think should be saved for posterity.)


Ka ‘Ohana has garnered another first place national award from the American Scholastic Press Association.


The competition, based on a point system, provides feedback to the newspaper staff on strengths and areas to improve in content, page design, general plan, art, editing and creativity.


The tug-of-war goes on between lifelong Kailua residents who want to preserve a once-quiet beach community and those who want more planned growth and commercial development.

The latest flashpoints in this ongoing controversy were Bill 11 from the Honolulu City Council and Senate bill 2927. At press time, both were still being debated, but it’s clear the key issues won’t be resolved anytime soon.

Congratulations, April Fool’s winners!


Kevin Morimatsu, Hendricks Hicks, Hannah Carroll, Jill Butterbaugh and Ashley Sonoda were the first five students to correctly identify the April Fool’s story, “Pumpkin King Crowned,” in last month’s issue. They will each receive a $20 Starbucks gift card.


Each year the Hawai‘i Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ)selects an elite group of college students as recipients of its highly competitive summer internship program. 


From a pool of around 60 well-qualified journalism students, a dozen are chosen for the 10-week, paid position.