University of Hawaii - Hilo

This is where I work

According to the US News & World Report college rankings, UHH has the highest ethnic diversity of all the institutions in its survey. They say the "index measures the probability that any two people chosen at random from a given school are of different races or ethnic groups." UHH is proud of this statistic (.78) and the university community feels that it provides a vibrant and enriched campus.

That ranking does not even include the more than 200 international students, who come from 37 countries. More than half of those students are from Oceania (with only 6 from Australia and New Zealand).  UHH offers reduced tuition to students from eligible Pacific Island places which do not have their own public institutions granting baccalaureate degrees. These currently include the following: American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Futuna, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Republic of Belau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Soloman Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis. (I had to get out the map.)

In celebration of this wonderfully complex community, "International Days" are held annually and culminate in two nights of performances.  This year's performances were from: Japan, Okinawa, Philippines, and Burma, Samoa, Kiribati, Palau, and the Marshall Islands; Pohnpei, Yap, Chuuk, and Kosrae (Federated States of Micronesia); France, Ireland, Russia, Greece, Serbia, and one of the MCs is from Peru.

It was pretty amazing. Here are some photos I took.

Kiribati

Kosrae Women

Kosrae Men

Yap

 

Chuuk

Chuuk

  

Japan

Marshall Islands