Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 6, 1 June 2014 — OHA CEO delivers UH graduate commencement address [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA CEO delivers UH graduate commencement address

By Harold Nedd Kamana'opono Crabbe, Ka Pouhana and CEO at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, delivered the eommeneement address in May for more than 500 graduate students who received degrees this year from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Speaking at the university's 103rd annual Advanced Degree Commencement Ceremony, Crabbe congratulated students in the class of 20 14 on their hard work and accomplishments as they prepare to begin professional careers ranging lf om doctors and lawyers to engineers and architects. He also highlighted the importance of their generation of leaders to efforts to help create a better Hawai'i.

"I would encourage you to look at leadership as less about your needs, and more about the needs of the people and organization you are leading," Crabbe said in his 10-minute eommencement speech at the Stan Sheriff Center. "I have also learned that leadership is being visible and available when things are going awry and invisible when they are working well. Meaning, when others are losing their nerves, good leaders know they have a ehanee to prove their value." Crabbe, who is the first person in his family to earn a doctorate degree, also told the graduate students that they earned their degrees at a crucial time, adding that the public education system, working-class families, the environment, keiki and kūpuna all need their generation of leaders, now more than ever. "For example, your generation of leaders is

needed in community heahh centers to help some of us fight the uphill battle to maintain a healthy weight," he said. "Your generation of leaders is needed in schools to help close achievement gaps that threaten to undermine our eeonomie competitiveness. And your generation of leaders is needed in communities with streams to help ensure that water benefits everyone and not just private corporations that divert it for profit. It is your generation of leaders who are needed to be difference-makers for our communities and our world." His advice to the graduates was for them to stay connected to their source of strength. "For me, my source of strength has always been my kūpuna and ancestors," Crabbe said. "That is where I tum for my inspiration to lead and inHuenee others. It has gotten me through tough times, taught me more than I would like to admit and kept me grounded and focus on what counts. You already know your source of strength; it is what brought you to the milestone you have reached today. I urge you to stay connected to it and create stronger paths for yourself." ■

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