HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A mother of three who paused her college education for nearly two decades to raise her children will graduate this Saturday, and she’ll be walking the stage alongside her oldest son.

“I mean, who really gets to say that, that you get to walk with your 23-year-old,” said Tanya Hōkūlani Racoma.

Racoma and her firstborn, Brendan Isaiah ‘Onipa‘a Racoma, are among the 190 students participating in UH West Oahu’s 2025 mid-year commencement.

“Graduating with Brendan wasn’t planned,” she said. “But it’s actually very rewarding because something that I stopped to raise my family, now I get to complete with him. So it’s a full-circle moment.”

Brendan said the milestone reflects years of hard work from their entire family. “Not only earning this bachelor’s for myself, r

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