The first commencement ceremony for Wayland Baptist University conferred Associate and Bachelor degrees on 41 graduates last Friday.
The local branch is part of the Hawaii Campus of Wayland University, and was opened at the Manumalo Academy in Malaeimi in 2018 before moving lto the Georgina building, Fagaima.
Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga was the commencement soeaker at the graduation ceremony held at Manumalo.
Site Coordinator Lumanai Snow said awards were presented to outstanding students.
Lucille Thompson Leota – Fall 2019, Outstanding Student Performance Award
Papaalii Iakopo Ierome – Fall 2020 Outstanding Student Performance Award
Dutch Hopkinson – Fall 2021, Outstanding Student Peformance Award
One of the graduates was Esther Iosefa-Moa, a single mom.
Esther, who had already earned her associate’s degree in business from the American Samoa Community College, initially thought she’d end up at an online university, since that has typically been the only option for Samoans.
“A friend of mine graduated with me from the community college, and when she decided to enroll in Wayland, I thought I’d give it a try too,” says Esther,
She found the experience enjoyable.
“I am very proud of Wayland here, and it has changed me,” says Esther. “It gave me an opportunity to pursue further education, and that’s hard to do down here (in Samoa). When I found out that Wayland offered numerous fields in the bachelor’s degree, I went for it. They offer a lot of options – online, face-to-face or hybrid – at Wayland, and that’s good too.”
Esther also appreciated the affordability of Wayland. As a single mother with two young children, she was especially glad that she could juggle work, family and school both financially and from a time standpoint. She credits her parents and siblings for helping with childcare when there is a conflict with school.
