SOUTHWESTERN ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY ISSUES HONOREE DEGREE TO QUEEN OF PALAU
Students from several Keene schools lined their campus driveways in early May , to welcome Bilung Gloria Gibbon Salii , the Queen of Palau . Bilung received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Southwestern Adventist University during the 2024 commencement services . Students from Keene ISD , Keene Adventist Elementary School , Chisholm Trail Academy and Southwestern greeted Bilung , waving Palau flags and cheering as she greeted them with the same kind of zest . She high-fived and hugged students , signed autographs as she walked through the line . Bilung attended Southwestern in the early 1970s but had to leave before she could finish her degree in secondary education . She ascended to the top of the traditional matriarchy of Koror and Palau in 1975 after the passing of her grandmother .
Photos by Monica Faram
26 Community Life