The University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu Chancellor Maenette K. P. Ah Nee-Benham was honored at an aloha and mahalo celebration December 18, on campus as she prepares to step down at the end of the year after nearly a decade of leading the Kapolei campus.
About 135 guests including family, friends, faculty, staff, students, and former colleagues and mentees—wished Benham a fond farewell through beautiful lei, meaningful gifts, and heartfelt and emotional tributes.
The lunch program opened with a pule (prayer) offered by Aunty Lynette Paglinawan, beloved retired resident kupuna (elder) at UH West Oʻahu.
“We are all gathered here to join our honoree who is retiring, but who doesn’t realize life begins now,” Paglinawan said. “You’re going to join the rest of us and be more active in the things that you want to do that come from your heart.”
Throughout the celebration, guests were welcome to share personal remarks about Benham.
Matt Militello, a professor of educational administration at East Carolina University and one of three guests representing Benham’s time at Michigan State University, opened up about what he has learned from Benham, including work ethic and passion.
“Of course, the third one is compassion, especially for the silenced or marginalized voices,” Militello said, “to elevate the local voices to find solutions for their local concerns.”
Kaiwipunikauikawēkiu Punihei Lipe, director of UH System’s Hawaiʻi Papa O Ke Ao and the director of the Native Hawaiian Place of Learning Advancement Office at UH Mānoa, shared how Benham changed her life.
“You are amazing at so many things,” Lipe said. “For those of us who have been your mentees, we are so lucky to have, I think, experienced the best part of you.”
In closing, Benham shared, “I wish for all of you to continue to grow grounded in our shared values, reaching toward a future shaped by collective brilliance, mālama (care) and aloha. Kūlia i ka nuʻu—always, always reach for the summit. … It has been my joy, it has been a lifetime of service and stewardship that I will treasure forever. Mahalo, mahalo, mahalo.”
For more visit Ka Puna O Ka Loʻi.
—By: Zenaida Serrano Arvman
