Graduation marks end of emotional four-year journey for Lahainaluna’s Class of 2024

Lahainaluna High School’s Class of 2024 celebrated the end of an emotional four-year journey, with 216 seniors receiving their diplomas Sunday night at the Sue D. Cooley Stadium.

Fifteen students, who were displaced by the fires to other high schools, also walked with their classmates to celebrate graduation.

M. Jee Abara, one of Lahainaluna’s 36 valedictorians, delivered the class speech. Abara is Lahainaluna’s first student to graduate with an associate’s degree from the University of Hawai‘i Maui College in Liberal Arts along with a high school diploma through the school’s dual credit program. He plans to attend UH West O‘ahu to study Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Management.

After the presentation of the diplomas, alumni from the class of 2024 and volunteers led the traditional lighting of the “L” on Pu‘u Pa‘upa‘u above the campus.

Following the singing of the alma mater, graduates and families were treated to a surprise drone light show by Sky Elements and sponsored by the Downtown Athletic Club of Hawaii (DCAH). The DCAH raised over $1 million to support Lahainaluna student-athletes.

The University of Hawai‘i has offered full scholarships to every Lahainaluna senior in the Class of 2024 that would cover tuition, fees, books and supplies for full-time and part-time students at any of UH’s 10 campuses. Seventy-five Lahainaluna seniors have committed to attending UH baccalaureate campuses on four-year scholarships, including 72 to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, two to UH Hilo and one to UH West Oʻahu.

In total, Lahainaluna seniors earned $3.3 million in scholarships.

The graduates’ four-year high school journey was bookended with the COVID-19 pandemic their freshman year and the deadly Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires that struck the day before the start of their senior year. The fire displaced over 3,000 students from four Lahaina public schools.

Immediately after the devastation, while the Lahainaluna campus was closed, students temporarily enrolled in other educational options, including sharing campus facilities with Kūlanihākoʻi High School in Kīhei for about a month before the school welcomed students back for full in-person learning to the historic campus in mid-October.