Brian E. Powers: Schools Out Forever!

Four years ago my first child Leilani went to the mainland to begin college. She endured the most difficult start of a university career I have ever heard of. This last week I returned to Oregon to watch her walk up and accept her diploma. I have never been more proud of anyone or anything in my entire life. She overcame very long odds and pulled it off with flying colors!

By way of making my point here is a photo of her the day I left her to start college.

You will want to read the previous blog telling how she came to look like this in order to understand the story.

Here is what she looked like this week upon her graduation.

Our family began arriving into Portland, Oregon the day before the ceremonies were to be held, flying in from California and Hawaii to see their granddaughter, daughter, niece, and sister complete her days as a student these last 19 years. Leilani took us for a walk about her campus and home the last four years before the Pacific University traditional ending of ones college career began.

Four years ago I walked down the stairs of this dorm leaving a swollen and sick Leilani to make her way on her own. This week I looked up at the brick facade and once again felt pride in Leilani's strength.

Leilani's grandma was thrilled to walk around the library and halls of education her granddaughter had spent her past four years. She had not been able to travel to Oregon to see her while she was a student.

Leialani and her 'Little' brother Luke on the libraray steps.

I remember Leilani calling me the day she saw her first squirrel on campus, her first eagle, the day the leaves fell from the trees, the day she saw her first snow falling and the day the leaves returned and when the sun shown through after a month of clouds.

I recall sitting at my desk working on photos on the computer and answering the phone to hear my little love bunnie's voice squeal with excitement: " Daddy! An eagle just landed on a tree branch outside my window! I've never seen an eagle before! YEEEE!"

I will never forget those moments over the last four years when she felt the need to call and tell me what she had seen or done.

Pacific University is an old school, 1849, and as such has longstanding traditions. One is that when you start as a freshman you sign in in the school book, then shake the hand of the president and walk into the oldest building on the campus and ring the school bell signifying that you are ready to begin your higher education.

Upon completion of your degree you once again sign the book as you leave, shake the hand and ring the bell. At Pacific it is called the sign, shake and ring ceremony. When Leilani arrived at Pacific and her time came to take part in this long honored tradition she was too sick to participate. The dean allowed her to sign, shake and ring privately weeks later when she was feeling better.

Here you see her four years later signing out from Pacific Universtity, healthy and happy!

If you look carefully you will see Leilani's grandma Pat in the grey jacket beyond proudly watching Lei finish her college days.

That's Lei's arm pumping in triumph not the lady with her back to us, I missed the shot of her ringing the bell!

Kailana in blue is now going to be a sophomore at Pacific whle Lei in red begins her life in the real world.

Here are some images from the graduation ceremony the following day. There is little to comment on. Just enjoy the moment as I saw it.

I moved about grabbing photos of the event and finding that as I listened to the speeches and looked down at these kids and my daughter I kept getting something in my eyes that caused them to water and there must have been something in the air because I found that my throat kept closing down and I seemed to be choking up. Damn Oregon bushes and trees I suspect.

There is a very large contingent of kids from Hawaii at Pacific and each year they take a photo of all the graduating Hawaii seniors, Lei remembered at the last minute and ran through the trees to get there in time.

At the start of the blog where I dropped Leilani at school there is a picture of her and her new roomate, Mel, outside their dorm. They had at the time known each other for only a few hours but became close friends over the ensuing years.