Windward Community College

Join us as we celebrate the Class of 2026 at Windward Community College’s Commencement Ceremony! 🎓🌿 📅 Friday, May 15, 2026 🕔 5:00 PM 📍 Hale ʻĀkoakoa Can’t make it in person? The ceremony will also be livestreamed on YouTube: https://go.hawaii.edu/i4A This evening honors the hard work, perseverance, and achievements of our graduating students as they take the next step in their journeys. Congratulations to all of our graduates and their ʻohana! 💚 For more commencement information: windward.hawaii.edu/programs-of-study/graduation/ #windwardskies #wcccommencement #wccgraduation2026 #hawaiigraduation #YOUDIDIT🎓

Tamila “Tami” Alcoran began taking college courses through Windward Community College’s Puʻuhonua Incarcerated Education Program while incarcerated. This spring, she graduates with her Associate in Arts degree and continues to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health. “Knowledge is power.” “Everybody deserves second, sometimes third or fourth chances.” Mahalo to Tami for sharing her story and journey with our community. Congratulations to all of graduates from the Class of 2026! Read the full UH News story at: go.hawaii.edu/Chi #wccclassof2026 #incarceratededucation #wccpuʻuhonua #secondchances #hawaiigraduation

COMMENCEMENT IS STILL ON! We’ve made some adjustments to our venue due to the weather and we are moving forward! Graduates and ʻohana, please arrive safely! Livestream will be available on YouTube: https://go.hawaii.edu/i4A

The doctor is in the house! You can’t get anymore world class than the director of our Kaʻohekani music program, Dr. Kamuela Kimokeo. Demonstrating a skillset that only master musicians can, Kamuela performs, “Jus Press,” made famous by the legendary Ledward Kaʻapana. Cameraman apologizes for the shaky footage 😉 #Hiʻikua #kaʻohekani #juspress #hanaunamele2026 #kanileʻaʻukulele

HANAUNA MELE 2026 PART 2 Hiʻikua Highlights from Hānauna Mele featuring the Nā Hōkū Hanohano award-winning talents of Hiʻikua. 🎶 All the hits and more! Mahalo to everyone who joined us for an evening celebrating Hawaiian music, culture, and community at Windward Community College. Special mahalo to Kanileʻa ʻUkulele & Guitar for sponsoring the event and supporting WCC students through the Kanileʻa Scholarship Fund. #hālauhi’iakainamakalehua #Hanaunamele2026 #Hiʻikua #windwardcc #ka’ohekani

HANAUNA MELE 2026 PART 1 Hālau Hiʻiakaināmakalehua Highlights from Hānauna Mele featuring performances by the award-winning Hālau Hiʻiakaināmakalehua, recent overall winners of the Merrie Monarch Festival, under the direction of Robert Keʻano Kaʻupu IV. Mahalo to Kanileʻa ʻUkulele & Guitar for sponsoring this special evening and for continuing to support Windward Community College students through the Kanileʻa Scholarship Fund, which helps students pursue higher education and support the perpetuation and growth of Hawaiian music. #hālauhiʻiakaināmakalehua #Hanaunamele2026 #hulaislife #windwardcc #kaʻohekani

HOʻOMAIKAʻI to our 2026 graduates from Kaʻohekani and Hawaiʻiloa ‼️ It has been an honor to watch you all grow as haumāna, as Kumu, and as mākua. Many of you started this journey to better understand Hawaiʻi and who we are as a people. Many started this as adult learners coming back to school 30+ years out. Many of you live on the continent while just trying to find your way back home. No matter what your motivation was YOU DID IT. Through the trials, the tears (good and sad), and the immense amount of time you put into your kula it has been the honor of Ke Kulanui Kaiāulu o ke Koʻolau to support you to this moment. Our Kaʻohekani graduates benefited from the opportunity of receiving a Mele Hawaiʻi certificate supported by generous donors with free classes for all DOE Kumu. Our Hawaiʻiloa graduates were able to graduate with not only their AA in Hawaiian Studies but also their AA Liberal Arts with many earning one or more certificates in Ahupuaʻa Hawaiʻi, Moʻolelo Hawaiʻi, and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. Mahalo nui loa to every single person who continues to support our programs!! We could not do the work we do without you, lāhui! Our kuleana is to strengthen connection and understanding to ʻike, ʻŌlelo, mele, and nohona Hawaiʻi. You all have fulfilled that kuleana. Hoʻomaikaʻi class of 2026, e ola koa! ✨🎓 #graduation #hawaiianstudies #hawaii #melehawaii

Today's the big day. Congrats to all you 2026 grads.

VOTE FOR GALLERY ʻIOLANI! STAR-ADVERTISER BEST MUSEUM We’re honored to share that Gallery ʻIolani has been nominated for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Best Museum of 2026! If you’ve visited the gallery, attended a program, or connected with the exhibitions and artists featured in this space, we would greatly appreciate your support through a vote. Every vote helps uplift arts, culture, and community here in Hawaiʻi. Voting is open through May 26, 2026. Vote here: https://go.hawaii.edu/Yhi Mahalo nui for your support!

Mahalo to everyone who visited us this semester or otherwise supported our services! It’s always a pleasure to work with such wonderful students, staff, and faculty on such an amazing campus.🧡 We will reopen the Writing Lab and Math Lab in the coming weeks to provide support during both summer sessions. #kapikowcc #windwardcommunitycollege

Today, I was pleased to present an Honorary Certificate to Windward Community College (WCC) Chancellor Dr. Ardis Eschenberg on behalf of the Honolulu City Council, in recognition of her leadership and commitment to education for our Windward community and the people of Hawaiʻi. Since becoming Chancellor in 2019, Ardis has strengthened WCC's connection to the communities of Koʻolaupoko by expanding educational opportunities for keiki to kūpuna, while fostering an environment in which students could thrive academically, culturally, and personally. Under her leadership, WCC has expanded access to higher education for Native Hawaiian, first-generation, and underserved students; established the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) System's only Hawaiian immersion childcare center, Ke Kula Kamaliʻi ʻo Hānaiaulu; advanced programs in Hawaiian Studies and Hawaiian Music; broadened statewide access to its Veterinary Technology program; and became the only UH college to offer degree programs within the carceral system in Hawaiʻi and Arizona. Beyond the campus, Ardis has remained deeply engaged with the Windward community, regularly attending and presenting before neighborhood boards and community meetings to share updates, listening to residents, and strengthening partnerships between the college and the communities it serves. Mahalo Chancellor Ardis Eschenberg for your remarkable leadership, your service to our students and communities, and for continuing to uplift generations through education, culture, and aloha!