Student speakers are an important part of Commencement as they represent their graduating class, the faculty members who have nurtured their academic growth, and the staff who have provided them with support and guidance. One undergraduate and one graduate speaker will be chosen. Candidates for a bachelor’s degree who have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and higher at the time of graduation are eligible to compete in the undergraduate speaker category. All master’s degree candidates are eligible to audition in the graduate speaker category. Eligible candidates will be vetted among faculty and administration before a speaker is chosen. Once chosen, the student speakers will be required to attend coaching sessions with a faculty member.
Students will be auditioning in front of a selection committee. Please bring eight copies of your speech to the audition. Your speech should last no longer than five minutes. As a general guideline, one typed page (double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt) equals two minutes.
To participate, please click here to register. You may also call (808) 739-4669 to register. The registration deadline is Wednesday, March 4, 2020. Auditions will be held on Wednesday, March 18, 2020, at 12:30 p.m. and Friday, March 20, 2020, at 12:30 p.m. in the Ching Conference Center located on the second floor of Eiben Hall. Once you register for auditions, you will be assigned a time slot on a first come first serve basis.
We had so many wonderful speakers audition for the Class of 2020. Please help us congratulate Pohaikealoha Artates (Undergraduate Speaker) and Charlee Tanuvasa (Graduate Speaker).
Pohaikealoha Artates, B.S. Environmental Science
“Aloha,
My name is Pohaikealoha Artates. I am a Native Hawaiian Hoʻoulu Scholar at Chaminade University. I will be graduating with a B.S. in Environmental Science with two minors in English and Political Science. I graduated from Kamehameha Schools Maui in 2016, and then moved to Oʻahu to attend Chaminade University.
I chose to attend Chaminade University not only because I received a four year scholarship, but also because of its diverse community, commitment to serving Native Hawaiians, and its mission as a Marianist Catholic institution. As a Native Hawaiian, culturally, we have a very strong love and respect for the ʻāina. This same love and respect sparked my interest in learning about it more. I knew that majoring in Environmental Science would allow me to fulfill this passion and aid me in my journey to become an environmental lawyer. I plan to earn my Juris Doctorate in Environmental Law in the near future. I will use this new knowledge to fulfill my kuleana by giving back to the lāhui.
I would like to thank the Chaminade ʻohana for assisting me in my academic endeavors, and providing me with the resources that I needed to grow as a Silversword.”
Charlee Tanuvasa, MSCP, Mental Health Counseling
Charlee grew up playing sports and pursued a career in golf. She lettered four years at ʻIolani School c/o 2010, was an active member of the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Wahine Golf Team all four years and was the head coach for Kamehameha School’s girls’ teams for four seasons. She also worked for the PGA of America – Aloha Section for three years. After taking some time off after undergrad to figure out what she wanted to do with her life, Charlee applied and was accepted into Chaminade’s MSCP program in 2017. During her time at Chaminade, she chose to have a baby (Kou Aveavai Kapiʻioho Tanuvasa was born on March 2, 2019), got engaged four months later to her best friend, Jason Aualiʻi Tanuvasa, and got married three months after that. As of May, she has been interning at the Salvation Army Women’s Way substance use residential treatment center for mothers and babies ages 0-5. She is also the program administrator for the Association for Infant Mental Health in Hawaii. Charlee never thought she would be working with young children or families, but with her recent experiences of being a new mother, she’s developed a passion to share what she’s learned and continues to learn in promoting infant mental health and the futures of our keiki.
