ON Wednesday, Heald College -- formerly known as Cannon's Business College and, before that, Honolulu Business College -- will hold its 135th anniversary bash at its Kapiolani campus. Among the throng of visiting graduates, Donna Toyama Wheeler and Clyde Matsusaka are sure to be there. Calling all grads of
Heald and Cannon’sThe two distinguished alumni readily credit the condensed and intense business/tech curriculum at Heald for their gainful employment today.
In 1979, when Donna Toyama graduated from Kamehameha School, she seemed to be the only one in her class without direction or drive. With no money to attend college, she was resigned to finding a job and giving up on higher education.
Then a Cannon's admissions officer helped her fill out some forms for financial aid. Donna was admitted and thrived in the smaller, personalized classes at Cannon's, finding her niche in the hospitality/tourist trade.
Since earning her diploma in hotel management, Donna has worked her way up from a night auditor at the Aston Island Colony to general manager of the Aston Waikiki Beachside Hotel.
Clyde Matsusaka made a similar professional journey. When the avid surfer graduated from McKinley in 1976, he took a full-time job in sales at Town & Country Surf in Pearl City while handling a part-time load at community college.
It was only after switching to Cannon's in 1980, however, that Clyde got stoked on learning. "The people there gave me direction, and taught me that I can attain anything if I just focus," recalls Clyde, now 40.
He was so motivated after graduating from Cannon's that he returned to earn his bachelor's degree at the University of Hawaii and MBA at Chaminade University. He has taught accounting and other subjects at all three of his alma maters.
Today, the senior vice president of investments at Smith Barney Inc. is still grateful to the school where his career was launched, now known as Heald.
Clyde and Donna urge those who are interested in higher education, but who can't or won't spend half a decade on a university campus, to consider the option of a year or 18 months at a business school. Heald offers classes in accounting, legal and medical office administration, computers and electronics technology in the school's five-floor building across the street from Ala Moana Center.
Evelyn Schemmel, executive director of Heald in Honolulu, says most of her "day" students are 18 to 24 years of age, while "night" students are often older and have either jobs or keiki-care responsibilities during normal working hours. "We're a business whose business is teaching business," says Schemmel.
WEDNESDAY'S 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. anniversary party is an open house and reunion for the thousands of graduates of Honolulu Business College, which became Cannon's and then merged into the nationally established Heald organization in 1993. There will be light pupus, tours, Internet workshops, software demonstrations and even a 2 p.m. talent show.
Heald's teachers and administrators can't wait to reunite with successful alumni like Donna and Clyde, who got their professional starts at a school where the primary mission is preparing students for the workplace in the shortest practical time.
Makes sense. The sooner they learn, the sooner they earn.
Diane Yukihiro Chang's column runs Monday and Friday.
She can be reached by phone at 525-8607, via e-mail at
DianeChang@aol.com, or by fax at 523-7863.