On Wednesday, November 23, 2011, the day before Thanksgiving, American Samoa's Middle Level M.Ed. (MLMED) Cohort 1 members gathered at the Gov. H. Rex Lee Auditorium in Utulei for their commencement ceremony which began with words of gratitude and ended with hugs, happy tears, and of course, diplomas.This cohort was the first University of Hawaii/ ASDOE partnership to tackle a Masters degree program in Education in the territory. In the end, 26 graduated with their masters, 24 who studied with the cohorted version of the program, and two others who started earlier and proceeded on their own.This number of graduates at one time is a tremendous feat, when one considers per capita and for a population of our size noted MLMED director, Dr. Paul Deering.Officially, the Master of Education Degree in Curriculum Studies with a Middle Level Emphasis addresses the needs of educators who work with children 10 to 18 years of age, providing teachers tools, guidelines and understanding that equip them for the task.Said Gov. Togiola Tulafono, during his address, \Without a four year college on island