El Camino College's 19th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival brought a joyful celebration of spring and friendship to campus on March 28.
This year's "Dr. Nadine Ishitani Hata Memorial Cherry Blossom Festival" featured haiku poetry readings by students from professor Rhea Lewitzki's creative writing/poetry class and taiko performances from UnitOne of Asano Taiko U.S. Dr. Donald Hata, a retired faculty member from California State University, Dominguez Hills and the husband of Dr. Nadine Ishitani Hata, joined the festival as an honored guest.
Sponsored by the ECC Office of Staff and Student Diversity, the festival is named after the college's former vice president of academic affairs who passed away in 2005. Dr. Hata was an internationally known scholar who was instrumental in bringing the cherry trees to the campus 19 years ago, one of the many programs she supported during her 34-year career at El Camino College. American Honda donated the cherry trees and also supported the initial endowment fund created in 2006 for the Dr. Nadine Ishitani Hata Scholarship that is awarded each year to deserving student nurses.