Of the thousands of students who started school last week at the University of Hawaii’s Manoa campus, none was happier than the newly declared history major who stood at the bus stop behind Sinclair Library for his first day of classes.

Nicholas Iwamoto never thought he would be there.

Ever since he was attacked on Koko Crater in February 2009 — stabbed 18 times and thrown from the rim, his neck broken in the fall — Iwamoto’s recovery has been a series of pain and doubt and fear.

"For me this is like the beginning of my new life," said Iwamoto, now 27. "I started over. Survival was one part and then there was putting the pieces back together and starting over, which is what I am doing now."

He had been a student at Kapiolani Community College but was thinking about joining the Hawaii National Guard when the random act of violence changed the course of his life.

But he held on to hope. If he could somehow find a way to pay for it, he wanted to return to college.

When Manoa chancellor Tom Apple read about Iwamoto’s story in the Star-Advertiser in August 2012, he was so moved that he offered Iwamoto the Chancellor’s Scholarship — a four-year award worth $4,000 per semester.

Iwamoto, who still lives with daily pain, said he needed a bit more time and waited until this fall to enroll.

He’s taking five courses: Russian, math, philosophy and a pair of history classes.

Truth be told, Iwamoto was a bit nervous to be back at school. But he viewed it as positive tension. Whenever he looks at the crowded campus he thinks the same thing: This is where I belong.

Before his first class, though, Iwamoto stopped by Apple’s office.

"I met him for the first time and said, ‘Thank you,’" Iwamoto said. "I told him if there is anything I can do, don’t hesitate to ask. It is not every day that you are given a free education."