Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.

Alumni Student Honored as UH West Oahu’s 2016 Valedictorian

Valedictorian at University of Hawaii West Oahu. How do you achieve that after attending for only three years? Well, you could start college as a sophomore.

That is how ISLAND PACIFIC ACADEMY alumna Ana Lillis (IPA ’13) did it.  She just graduated this spring as the valedictorian of her class with a BA in Business with an emphasis in marketing.  “I took a number of AP classes at IPA and did well on the AP tests,” she explains.  Then she tested out of beginning classes in several subjects at UH.

Ana Llilis
Ana Lillis (IPA ’13), UH West Oahu Valedictorian, celebrates commencement with her parents, Robert and Maria Lillis.

“Teachers at IPA allowed me to grow in a way that matched my individual learning style,” Lillis says.  She credits her ISLAND PACIFIC ACADEMY academic experience and preparation, for her ability to accelerate her completion of college graduation requirements.  And somewhere along the way, she says, she realized that what her teachers were both allowing and expecting her to do was “give it your all and rise to the challenge,” as Lillis puts it.  She is also quick to add that the support of friends she made at ISLAND PACIFIC ACADEMY was an important factor in her growth as a student.

Lillis is the first to admit that she was perhaps not a typical student. Her Advanced Placement (AP) teacher, Wally Ingebritson, remembers her as “one of those students who was a true learner.  She wasn’t about the grades, but the spark of learning, though of course, that also resulted in high quality work and strong grades.”

“That would be right,” agrees Lillis.  “I had good grades, but I wasn’t one of the students getting top IPA honors at graduation time.”  However, what she did do was read a lot, and think deeply about what she was reading and learning, and her teachers recognized that.  Her US Government teacher and Model United Nations adviser, Kori Shlachter, comments that “Ana often brought up views her peers might not have considered, making things more relevant and discussions more interesting.”

Lillis worked three jobs to avoid leaving college with debt, while also completing college work at a level that resulted in becoming UH West Oahu’s 2016 Valedictorian. In addition, she made time for an internship in the office of the State Assembly Majority Leader, and the knowledge gained in that experience has parlayed into a job in public relations for a business on Maui.

Giving your all, rising to challenges, thinking deeply about what you learn, all are clearly prescriptions for success, given Lillis’ example.

We congratulate Ana and wish her continued success in all her endeavors.   We know that Ana will spread her wings and go forward with confidence.   Imua Me Ka Ha’aheo!