Pacific Century Fellows Graduation Speech

I. INTRODUCTION
John: Nate and I are both very honored and humbled by this opportunity to speak for the PCF class of 2010 knowing full-well that many, if not all, of the people in our class could stand before you to recount how truly life-changing this experience has been.
Nate: For those of you who don’t know, I am a lawyer and John is a social studies teacher. We both make our livings explaining things we don’t understand.
John: But since you’ve given us an open mike and a vague assignment, don’t expect to get out of here any time soon. The main difference with this setting, of course, is that when we address audiences in our chosen professions we’re usually hoping that no one in the audience is under the influence of alcohol, (maybe more so for me than for Nate, but that’s debatable) yet tonight we’re hoping that everyone is highly intoxicated.
Nate: Before we begin, we wanted to express our deepest gratitude to a few of the individuals who made this program so successful.
John: Mufi Hannemann and Trudy Saito, your vision in creating a program designed to transform and inspire young leaders has left an indelible mark on our community. Graduates of this program are everywhere and they’re helping to tackle some of the very complex and difficult issues that face Hawaii.
And Char, words cannot express how indebted we are to you. Your selfless work behind the scenes to ensure that each of us was fully engaged with the program is particularly meaningful to us. Throughout the year you have been our navigator, team mom, drill sergeant, motivator, and karaoke Idol. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Nate: We’d also like to thank our employers, many of whom are in attendance this evening. Thank you for supporting us in our professional development. Please continue to encourage other leaders within your organizations to participate in this program. The return on your investment will be extraordinary, both to your organization, and more importantly, to our community.

John: To the PCF selection committee— your impeccable judgment in recognizing our individual attributes as well our inherent desire and ability to commit to something larger than ourselves is clearly a reflection of your vast wisdom.
Finally, to our spouses or significant others— your impeccable judgment in recognizing our individual attributes as well our inherent desire and ability to commit to something larger than ourselves is clearly a reflection of your wisdom (and, of course, your good looks and winning personalities).
Speaking for myself, I hope I wasn’t the only one who sold PCF to my wife as “hey it’s just one day a month with a couple of optional events on the side, we can handle that?” I honestly had no idea how much this experience would consume my life in an overwhelmingly positive way. So cheers to all the other understanding and supportive spouses out there tonight, and also to those less understanding ones who chose to stay far, far away.

Nate: It’s been a whirlwind year.

John: It certainly has, Nate. For when it was all said and done, in addition to the seven formal retreat days, and the trip to the Big Island, we had:
— a 2-day opening retreat
— 2 Military craft embarks (submarine and aircraft carrier) ;
— a visit to a naval hospital ship;
— a half-day session with D.A.R.E. and the Re-entry Court
— two cultural hikes to Mt. Ka`ala and Makua Valley
— a ride on the Hokule`a
— a joint breakfast session on APEC
— 9 community service projects
— 6 Guest Speaker Lunches
— 10 informal get-to-know-you lunches
— one family picnic
— one family Thanksgiving potluck,
— two wine tastings
— two alumni mixers
— seven pau hanas
— and eight Monthly Dashboard Meetings to discuss coordinating all of that

So maybe I undersold it a little bit and thankfully my wife still wanted to be here.

On top of all that we’ve also already had one birth, and we have two more keiki on the way. We’re been so productive we’re reproductive.

II. SUBSTANCE
John: If we look to the mission of the Pacific Century Fellows program, it aligns perfectly with the idea of a great learning experience: breadth of knowledge, depth of engagement, developing relationships. The first three elements of the experience are generally within one’s control and thanks to Char and everyone who helped her, we gained a tremendous amount of knowledge, engaged deeply into the important causes of our day, and met many of the movers and shakers in our community. That last element, however, the relationships between and among the students, that is the wild card because you just never know how the personalities of the various participants will meld together. What PCF celebrates and emphasizes and succeeds overwhelmingly at is developing those relationships.
Nate: We asked our classmates to reflect back on the year and share some memories that really stood out in their minds.
Vignette #1: Mt. Ka’ala (“walking across the serene crisp ridge of Mt. Ka`ala”) (1-2 minute description of event and take home message)
Nestled at the peak of the Waianae Range is a mountain named Mt. Ka’ala. If you’re ever driving out to the Waianae Coast, and look above the cloud layer, you can see a large white dome at its apex. Immediately below the dome, at about cloud level, is one of the best kept secrets on Oahu: an ancient Hawaiian rainforests that few have seen. The rainforest is pristine and unspoiled; wet cliffs and narrow ridges surround it. AS we walk through the rainforest we got to experience what, perhaps, it may have been like to live on our island before human contact. Mt. Kala teaches us that our island is fragile and that we each have an obligation to be stewards to ensure others can this tiny window into our past can be shared with our children and grandchildren.
John: As was usually the case with this group, whenever a long e-mail chain would go out, it would start off in a fairly serious and productive manner as you just heard, but then someone (and I won’t name names) would inevitably take it off on a humorous tangent, and then things would get really interesting and quite revealing. There were several mentions of a “Love grotto”, karaoke duets, or a particular PCF-er making out with a SWAT officer (who fortunately turned out to be her husband—we think), split leap jetes in high heels, and admonitions that “what happens at pau hana (or the love grotto) stays there.”
Not exactly inspirational narratives of life changing moments, but one of Mufi’s Maxims (from a little wallet sized- card he gave us at the opening retreat) is that the glass is always half full, not half empty, so we interpreted those recollections as simply more evidence of how this class has definitely developed a strong sense of familiarity with each other. If nothing else this information will come in handy in, shall we say, “motivating” our classmates to do us a favor or two sometime down the road. Nevertheless, as another one of Mufi’s Maxims explains: “Half baked ideas, like half-baked manapuas, are not good for you” the responses eventually got back to a more serious and contemplative level.
Nate: Vignette #2: Submarine Embark and Aircraft Carrier (“feeling the heat and pulsating roar of an F18 fighter jet standing on the flight deck of the USS Ronald Reagan.”) (1-2 minute description of event and take home message)
III. CHARGE
John: So when we ask ourselves whether we made the most of this opportunity, the answer would have to be an unqualified yes. But when we ask ourselves, have we fulfilled the mission of the Pacific Century Fellows Program, the answer must be: not yet. Our work has only just begun.
Because, as Mufi also likes to say: “the proof is in the poi.” That is a very apt metaphor for who we are as a PCF class and for who we are as members of this community. To the people who know Hawaii and love it and want it to be better, we know that poi and the kalo from which it comes are more than just sustenance. They represents a connection to and a deep respect for the past, and a growing hope for the future.
Nate: At our opening retreat we were treated to a presentation on Polynesian Leadership by Seamus Fitzgerald at the Polynesian Cultural Center. After an authentic wero ceremony, Mr. Fitzgerald asked us, “Who are you?” That set the tone for the year and we have building on it for 10 months.
John: That sense of ohana we’ve developed over that time is palpable and powerful. We started the year as 31 individuals, and now we stand before you as a cohesive group ready to take on new challenges. Any barriers that may have existed between and among us are now completely obliterated. Any hesitancy about getting out into the community and finding those solutions is gone. What PCF proves over and over again is that we are all in this together; there is no us and them; there is no other half; there is no over there. Our mission must be to perpetuate that sense of ohana now and going forward into the future. Nothing separates us from achieving our common goals and improving our community:
Nate: “We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
Who are we? “We are the people of the Pacific Century Fellows!”