Distinguished Alumni: Kathy Howa & Kalani Pe’a

Each October, 就在返校节周末的猪皮和游行进入高潮之前, Colorado Mesa University faculty, 校友和前运动员获得了“最好中的最好”的称号.’

A Distinguished Faculty member, 两名杰出校友和两名荣誉堂运动员在胜利晚宴上受到表彰. 他们在其他几十位杰出教授的万神殿中占有一席之地, students and athletes from previous years. 他们因在学术领域的杰出成就而受到认可, business, athletics, humanitarian aid and community service. 这些荣誉并不仅仅局限于走廊墙上的雕刻牌匾和照片.

The accolades are paid forward in the form of scholarships. 杰出校友每年向杰出学院选出的一名学生捐赠年度奖学金. The amount of that scholarship is symbolic — $1,925. That is the year CMU was established as a junior college. 该奖学金奖励符合条件的学生，并可能在未来几年扩大.

这三个奖项让该大学有机会突出优秀的毕业生，并让人们关注那些帮助学生取得显著成就的杰出教师.

高中女生的田径运动进入了冰河时期，凯西·豪瓦(Kathy Howa)在那里观看了解冻.

Before she came to Mesa, Howa was a three-sport athlete at Hillcrest High in Midvale, Utah, at the dawn of Title IX. 1972年通过的联邦法律，保护人们在教育项目或活动中免受性别歧视, including athletics.

“在高二之前，我从未参加过有组织的体育活动, when our team won Utah’s first-ever girls state tournament,” said Howa, who went on to play volleyball and softball at Mesa. “我希望我们能帮助今天的年轻女性了解，有多少女性为她们现在必须参加体育运动的权利而奋斗.”

她的高中机会为Howa铺平了道路，享受她在梅萨生活中最难忘的经历, 包括连续参加全国垒球锦标赛的机会.

“在我们第二次前往内布拉斯加州科尔尼参加全国赛时，我们与南犹他队打了14局. 这仍然是锦标赛历史上最长的比赛记录,” said Howa, 谁打三垒，偶尔为小牛队投球. “At one point, the rain came in and soaked everything, and they actually brought in helicopters to dry the field.”

Balancing athletics with academics was a challenge, she said, 但Howa在CMU的教育为他27年的教师和名人堂教练生涯提供了便利. At 59, 这位CMU杰出校友获得者仍然是犹他州一位热情的教育家, 作为一名乳腺癌幸存者，她还坚持不懈地为癌症研究而奋斗.

She founded the nonprofit Swing for Life, which typically raises around $50,每年为乳腺癌研究筹集的资金超过了100万美元.

“我仍然热爱教学和教练工作，”曾担任排球、篮球和垒球教练的华说. “最有意义的是，当我的一位前运动员告诉我，那是她生命中最美好的时光——那段经历改变了她的性格，帮助她成为了现在的自己。.” 

The pathway toward a dream-come-true is seldom predictable, but Kalani Pe’a — a teacher, 作家和两次获得格莱美奖的唱片艺术家说，他在梅萨接受的教育帮助他为每一次弯路做好了准备.

佩亚今天的生活是他小时候住在夏威夷大岛时所能想象的, where he was raised by loving, 辛勤工作的父母住在没有自来水的粉色拖车里, 没有电，每天用冰块代替冰箱.

“My parents taught me to be confident, but modest. 我的祖父母说，‘找到你擅长的事情，然后把它做好.’ And CMU gave me the wisdom, 在我所做的事情上表现出色的知识和信心,” said Pe’a, 他的一系列卓越成就使他有资格获得CMU杰出校友荣誉.

“我想在CMU主修音乐，”年轻时曾多次赢得歌唱比赛的佩亚说. “但学习音乐的所有技术方面对我来说是一种文化冲击. In Hawaii, we sing from the heart.”

他获得了大众传播专业的学位，然后回到夏威夷研究幼儿教育. During the next decade, Pe’a created music and cultural curriculum for a preschool, and then designed music-based science, technology, engineering and math courses for grades 6-12.

After 10 years as an educator, Pe’a recorded his first album, 获得了2017年格莱美最佳地区根源奖，并见证了他的事业腾飞. In 2019, he won again for his second album.

“Winning two Grammys helped me get a full-time job in music, start my own label and publishing company, and play to sellout audiences,” said Pe’a, 为了纪念他的祖母，他把大部分收入捐给了老年痴呆症的研究, who suffers from the disease.

“我之所以成为我，是因为作为一个自豪的夏威夷人，我被灌输了文化价值观, and because of Mesa, which gave me some of the best years of my life,” he said.