Major: Environmental Analysis, Biology focus
Profession: Master's student in Natural Resource Management at University of Montana
Hometown: Honaunau, HI
What are you doing now?
I am completing a master’s in resource conservation at the University of Montana with a focus in international conservation and development. I approach conservation and resource management issues as a social scientist and my research focuses specifically on decision-making around marine resources. I am especially interested in exploring decision-making processes that will be particularly effective for societies dealing with the impacts of global warming and other rapid environmental changes.
For my master's degree, I traveled to the Solomon Islands to conduct interviews regarding a new fisheries policy that allows communities to formalize their local management rules in order to receive help enforcing these rules from the government.
I received a National Science Foundation (NSF) East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes award to develop my theoretical framework with a mentor in Australia before traveling to the Solomon Islands. I am specifically interested in how science and local knowledge are valued in decision-making processes and the potential of this new policy to improve the ability of the nation to adapt to changes in their fisheries.
After three months in Australia I then went to the Solomon Islands to spend another three months doing fieldwork. This was my first foray into working in the context of a developing nation where customary systems are in the process of hybridizing with Western-style government systems. It was an incredible and eye-opening experience that left me with many more questions than I started with. I have just received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to pursue this interest further as a Ph.D. student. I will continue to explore decision-making processes and will likely work in my home state of Hawaii, and perhaps in other areas of the Pacific.
How did you get there?
After graduating from Pomona College, I worked for The Nature Conservancy for nearly three years. I contributed to a project to improve collaboration and information exchange related to landscape-scale coastal conservation issues in the Great Lakes region. The combination of my interdisciplinary undergraduate degree and practical experience with conservation work prepared me for graduate school. I also made sure to stay in touch with my mentors and with colleagues in Hawaii, which later helped me to prepare for my fieldwork in the Solomon Islands.
How did Pomona prepare you?
Pomona was a great place to explore my broad range of interests and to build the network of peers and mentors that have helped me get to where I am today. I chose to attend the college because of the environmental analysis degree, which allowed me to explore natural resource economics, environmental politics and the natural sciences. This proved to be an appealing background for nonprofit organizations like The Nature Conservancy and later for graduate programs focused on the human dimensions of natural resource management. The friends I made at Pomona have supported me through every step of my career post-graduation and my mentors have written an enormous number of support letters to help me secure the graduate positions and funding I need to succeed.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I will be entering a Ph.D. program in the fall and intend to graduate in five years. I hope at that point to have an in-depth understanding of marine resource governance and management in the Pacific, and to enter the realm of practice either through government or nonprofit work. I would love to be in my home state of Hawaii and to do work that contributes to the rest of the Pacific region as well.
Any advice for prospective or current students?
Seek out opportunities for practical experience, especially during summer breaks near the end of your college career. Be proactive about finding your own funding, every NSF fellowship I have received, I learned about on my own and pursued with assistance from my advisor. On that note, value your mentors and build personal relationships with them; learn about your professors' research interests, they are doing cool stuff, things you might want to do in the future! Remember to balance work with play, make good friends and keep them forever. Pomona is a great place to meet caring people with astounding intellect, and you may be surprised by how hard it is to find that sort of community after you leave.