Senior Profile: Elise Griffith plans to attend the University of Hawaii next fall

Before senior Elise Griffith had even decided to go to the University of Hawaii, her grandma had already given her a bundle of her Hawaiian shirts and anything else Hawaiian-themed she’d found. That made the decision easy

Griffith has always heard of the beautiful waters of Hawaii from her grandma, who was born and raised on the islands. But even though her family has always been connected to Hawaii through her grandmother’s stories, they were never able to visit. The last time they tried to visit Hawaii, her grandma got cancer and they weren’t able to go. Her family decided it was best to wait and go another time.

Over President’s day weekend, Griffith and her mom were able to fly out to the Aloha state to visit for the first time and tour the University of Hawaii in O’ahu.

As Griffith toured the campus filled with bike paths and walking trails alongside roaming wild chickens, she grew to love the people and the island of Honolulu. After a meeting with the elementary and special education department — which she plans on studying — she discovered their program would give her a condensed version of the traditional program at other schools.

After her campus tour at Hawaii, Griffith toured the University of Arkansas again — her other top choice — to meet with its education department. After hearing how Arkansas had sent someone over to the University of Hawaii to learn what Hawaii was doing, Griffith knew Hawaii was where she wanted to go.

“Other schools are sending people over to see what they’re doing because their program is so cool and so efficient,” Griffith said. “It’s just amazing. So I fell in love with that.”

Even though she has only been to Hawaii once, she’s heard her grandma gush about her experience in Hawaii all her life. She feels she has to try it out and experience Hawaii. It doesn’t matter if she changes her mind along the way. 

“I just kind of knew that I would regret not trying it for at least a year,” Griffith said. “If I transfer after that then, no regrets. I still tried it.”

She’s excited to explore the island and be able to show her family all her favorite spots when they visit.

Soon, Griffith will be in O’ahu and experiencing the adventure her grandma has talked about all her life — laying out on the beach and learning how to surf.