May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. For more information, go to: https://www.asianpacificheritage.gov/about.
Kalani Cannon: “In light of the recent uprising of Asian-American hate crimes and killings, it is incredibly important to recognize, stand in solidarity with and celebrate our Asian/Pacific American community. It’s important to take time to understand, research and listen to the Asian-American individuals and culture.
“Diversity begins with love and effort to include, listen and authentically care. It is more than statistics and guilt; it is about fostering a heart for others and recognizing and celebrating the humans who are already here. I’m thankful for a university that strives for inclusion in many facets, and I hope to see more Asian/Pacific American brothers and sisters freely inhabiting and leading on our campus.”
When Kalani Cannon walked across the stage for spring 2021 commencement at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, she carried her family history around her neck.
Raised with a Filipino mother and surrounded by Hawaiian culture, Cannon wore three leis around her neck when she graduated, each representing a specific element of her cultures.
“It’s a tradition to present loved ones with leis. What you do is present leis to somebody who is coming or going and arriving or leaving, so it’s kind representative of you leaving college and arriving into your new chapter of life,” she explained.
At commencement, she wore a purple lei known as a plumeria and a symbol for positivity and to celebrate special occasions. A green and brown lei was a kukui nut, used in Hawaiian medicine and symbolizing hope for renewal. The third was made by her aunt, using dollar bills folded to look like flowers. It simply called a money lei and is a more personal way of giving money than stuffing bills into a congratulations card, she said.
“The biggest significance of a money lei is handmaking it because it’s very tedious and a labor of love,” she said. “The time put into creating the lei, individually folding each dollar bill into flowers, and hand weaving the lei shows an act of love, which is really the gift aspect of it more than the money itself.”
Her best friend and roommate Margo Zani was surprised with the plumeria and the kukui nut leis at graduation.
“She is my chosen family and she is welcomed into my culture and family,” Cannon said. “The leis were symbolic of that love and acceptance. It’s also tradition to present friends as well as family with leis, so that’s what we did with Margo.”
Most of her family, including her mom and dad, attended Cannon’s graduation ceremony and saw the leis around her neck, “which was super-cool,” she said.
A native of California, she moved to Memphis just before ninth grade. Her father, an orthopedic doctor and devout Christian, wanted to live someplace with strong religious traditions. When it came time for college, she visited Chattanooga and UTC, cementing her choice of college. She attended UTC all four academic years.
Earning a bachelor’s in education with a concentration in science, she has a job already lined up as a middle school science teacher at the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences. The school sits directly across Third Street from the UTC campus, “which is pretty exciting,” said Cannon.
In California, she grew up in a combination of Filipino and Hawaiian culture, which included hula dancing and large potluck dinners, she said. Her mom was a hula dancer, which came in handy during the dinners.
“So many times I’d go to a luau or a holiday party, and we would have musicians who would have a jam session on their guitars and ukuleles. Then all our moms and all the ladies would get up and dance the hula. Everybody would bring all kinds of food to the potluck. It was super-fun.”
After moving from Cayucos, located on the central coast of California, she missed its nearby oceans and mountains. But Chattanooga has much the same feel, she said.
“I really loved that there was the river and different bodies of water because I really miss being able to swim. I really miss being able to hike and stuff like that,” she said. “And even though it’s a bigger city, it still feels like smallish. There’s a hometown feel.”
