Though native Hawaiian, I grew up in San Diego, 10 minutes from the ocean where I learned to swim before I could walk and fell in love with both marine conservation and volleyball. My formative years were spent traveling for tournaments and trying to get recruited to play in college. I first went scuba diving at 14 with my divemaster mom and instantly set a goal to study the ocean. When the time came to make a decision, the University of Hawaii at Hilo checked all of my boxes. I was blessed with the opportunity to play volleyball throughout school while aiming to obtain a degree in marine science and further gaining a connection with my culture. Though I approached school thinking I was going to become a researcher, I quickly reassessed that choice after falling in love with diving and realizing I’m not good at chemistry. As a fresh graduate, I look forward to learning from my experienced coworkers and retaining all the knowledge I can!!
Side note: My dog’s name is Sailor. It’s ironic because he will never willingly jump into a body of water.
