CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM A family that studies together graduates together. University of Hawaii graduates Marlene Jones-Skurtu, son Joshua Skurtu and his fiancee, Angela Murray (pictured in the background), were part of the commencement ceremonies held yesterday. Jones-Skurtu's daughter, Jasmine Skurtu, was scheduled to graduate with them but decided to stay enrolled instead. CLICK FOR LARGE

Family turns graduation triple play

1,500 grads stir smiles at UH

More than 1,500 students of the University of Hawaii at Manoa's centennial class graduated yesterday at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Commencement speaker Denise Konan, interim Manoa chancellor, advised graduates to listen to their inner spirit, while UH President David McClain exhorted students, clad in dark green robes, to "go for broke."

Later, outside, celebrations embraced Mother's Day, particularly fitting for the Skurtu family, which saw a mother, son and soon-to-be daughter-in-law receive their diplomas together.

They sat together, clad in green: mother, son and soon-to-be daughter-in-law. It was Mother's Day yesterday, and they celebrated by graduating together as a family.

"This is probably going to be the happiest Mother's Day I've ever had," said Marlene Jones-Skurtu, 52, a mother of four children and now a university graduate with a music degree. "I thought it was destiny for graduation to fall on Mother's Day."

The Skurtu family was among the more than 1,500 students in the University of Hawaii at Manoa's centennial class who graduated yesterday in the Stan Sheriff Center.

The commencement speaker, UH-Manoa interim Chancellor Denise Eby Konan, called the centennial class one marked by activism. In the past few years, students lobbied for more student housing and energy-efficient buildings.

She told students to remember the difference they made at UH and to do the same for generations to come.

"Find your calling. Give generously. Work hard to serve others," Konan said. "Put the well-being of the whole above your personal interests. If you do, I promise you that your life will be full and happy. The irony is that by serving others, you will be enriched."

Those words rang true for Jones-Skurtu, who had her first child in Texas when she was 24. She gave up going to college to take care of her four children.

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM University of Hawaii graduate Liz Collins showed off her degree yesterday during commencement ceremonies held at the Stan Sheriff Center. Collins received a bachelor's degree with a major in anthropology and minor in peace studies. CLICK FOR LARGE

Jones-Skurtu and Jasmine, also a music student who will be graduating in a year, took at least one class together every semester.

"I loved having class with her," said Jasmine Skurtu, 23. "She helped guide me through college. We were like best friends."

In one of their classes about two years ago, they met Angela Murray, a psychology student.

The mother and daughter were bickering, which reminded Murray of her own relationship with her mother. "I want to be her friend," Murray thought of Jasmine that day.

They became friends, and Jasmine Skurtu introduced Murray to her older brother, Josh. A year and a half later, the two are engaged and will get married in two weeks at Makapuu Beach.

"I'll be a Skurtu soon," Murray, 24, said proudly.

As the couple gets ready for life after graduation in Oregon, Marlene Jones-Skurtu has the same postgraduate jitters.

"I'm relieved but a little apprehensive," she said as she walked out of the Stan Sheriff Center tunnels to greet her family. "Right now, I want to write music, maybe jingles for the radio."

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM University of Hawaii graduate Jasmine Renee Jones showed off her newly acquired degree yesterday during commencement ceremonies held at the Stan Sheriff Center. Jones received a Bachelor of Science with a major in speech pathology and audiology. CLICK FOR LARGE