January 3, 2014
Maui-based Extension Education Services staffers gathered at Waiola Church in Lāhainā December 19 for their Fifth Annual Founder’s Day service. The site provided a culturally rich place for EES Division staffers to honor Pauahi.
KS founder Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop had a strong connection to the moku of Lāhainā because her parents Abner Pākī and Lydia Kōnia once resided at Lāhainā’s Mokuʻula, the first royal capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Adjacent to Waiola Church are significant Maui aliʻi burial grounds as well as the Princess’ legacy lands which she inherited from Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani and Victoria Kamāmalu.
Several Kamehameha Scholars students provided personal tributes to Ke Aliʻi Pauahi at the ceremony, including Ikaika Vierra, a senior at Baldwin High School.
“In my perspective, I connected with Princess Pauahi in a way that only people who experience the generosity she gave could understand,” said Vierra. “The programs and experiences Pauahi has provided for me, gave me the ‘ike that makes me the person I am today and I am eternally grateful for her generosity.”
Mahalo to EES director Stacy Clayton for sharing this story with KSOnline. If your division or campus has pics to share, please send them along with background information and captions to KS photographer Michael Young at miyoung@ksbe.edu.
Kamehameha Schools’ policy is to give preference to applicants of Hawaiian ancestry to the extent permitted by law.
