Forty Leis

At my first department meeting, my department head and I sat at the rectangular wooden table in the middle of her classroom. It was the only surface not covered with a monitor and keyboard. Class rosters and schedules were just released. Students would return to campus in a week.

We pulled up my homeroom roster and saw the smiling faces of eighteen seniors. I was surprised as I expected freshmen as a new teacher. But I inherited the previous engineering teacher’s homeroom. I feared not being able to bond with my homeroom since I was only going to be with them for a year.

I wanted that year to end well with the seniors. At my high school graduation, my friends and I were covered in leis up to our ears. I wanted to be there for my seniors and contribute to the pile of leis.

For most of the year I assumed I wouldn’t make it. We’d planned a trip to my niece’s graduation in Memphis. Her ceremony was the same day my seniors would walk.

Then our daughter got sick.

We got the news on Wednesday. Graduation was Saturday. I needed to come up with forty leis in less than three days.

I had two competing goals for the leis. It had to be cheap and quick to make. It also had to be meaningful, something the students would actually keep. These constraints felt similar to the ones my students face in their projects.

I decided on ribbon leis with custom laser cut pendants and bags of candy. The pendants would feature the school logo and class year. Laser cutting on 1/8” MDF was both economical and quick if I kept engraving to a minimum. Ribbon and candy were cheap. I penciled out the cost to be less than $2.50 per lei.

I pulled up Adobe Illustrator and drafted a few mock ups. I took a screenshot and prompted ChatGPT to critique my piece as a graphic designer. The LLM suggested changing the width to 2.5 inches and limiting the text to only the class year. I previously relied on architects for design decisions; it’s strange to now use AI for the same advice.

I placed a piece of scrap MDF into the laser cutter and ran a prototype. The edges showed burn marks, but it was good enough. I adjusted the settings, loaded a full sheet, and let it cut.

I spent the next couple hours sanding the pieces with 180 grit sandpaper. I took the pieces home to complete the lei. My wife helped cut the ribbon, and we strung the leis together.

I arrived two hours early and parked at the church next to campus. Graduation was held on the brand new field. It was the first time anyone had seen it. The grass was freshly cut and still wet from the morning rain. The track had newly laid asphalt. There was a passing shower, common for Manoa, right before the graduates stepped out.

After turning their tassels from right to left, a sea of white gowns scattered across the field. Each graduate scanned the field for their photos and families. I spotted C’s senior portrait blown up and hung between a PVC frame.

As I walked closer with lei in hand, I saw that he was taking photos with a friend. His cap was off with leis running past his chin. He spotted me after the photos were snapped. A huge smile flashed across his face. I gave him the lei and a hug. I said, “Congratulations, you did it!”

He gave me his thanks and said to wait for a photo. His sister took out her iPhone and snapped our pictures. As we were saying our goodbyes, he said, “You are a great teacher.”

After graduation, I picked up my son and headed home in the car. The AC hummed along and an NBA playoff podcast played through the speakers.

The sounds faded to the background as I thought about C’s last sentence. He believed I was a great teacher. Some of the weight came off from the career transition.

I glanced at my son in the rearview mirror. He was staring out the window. I exhaled.

Tags: #teaching