Scroll down for parts One and Two of Liz interviewing Tevita . . .This is part three.
Liz: So I noticed there were a lot, I mean A LOT of tears at your graduation from almost everyone in attendance! Were there any specific times of the weekend you remember getting emotional about and do you feel like sharing?
Ti: I think the most emotional I got was when we (PhD graduates) were walking into the stadium. I could feel Grandpa's presence and I just started balling because I knew 30 years of his work had finally come to fruition. Grandpa had been involved in my education from when I was 7 years old and I knew he was there and was proud of me. He was able to finally see me graduate with a PhD.
Ti: The 2nd time I got really emotional was after the graduation when you came down from the stands and you and I hugged. They were playing, "I can see clearly now" and we were both just crying. We were crying because while everyone was proud of me, only you and I knew what I went through to get to this point.
Ti: And I would say the last emotional experience I had was when there was the standing ovation for me.
Liz: Ah, yes. That was awesome. Just to give the readers (and our posterity) some context, the Anthropology Department had a dept. graduation the Friday night before the University ceremony. At that Friday ceremony, the advisers of the Master and PhD graduates gave a summary of the research done by students. Your advisor, Mimi Kahn, talked about your work and accomplishment.
Why did you get that standing ovation?
Ti: Because Mimi let the audience know that I was the first Tongan-American to get a PhD in Anthropology. I noticed that my professors were the first to stand and I think they did so because they knew how hard it is to get this kind of degree and I think also because they were proud that they were able to be part of producing this "first".
Liz: And a first you are. America's first Tongan Anthropologist, ICS's first Polynesian professor, and my first love.
Stay tuned for the final installment of Congratulations Dr. Ka'ili!
2 comments:
WOW! that's amazing, not just to be able to get this amazing degree but to actually be the very First of his people is PRICELESS! I actually got goosebumps when I read that!
Loved this installment of Congratulations Dr. Ka'ili. So proud of his incredible first's. It's so great that all of this is getting recorded in such a nice format.
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