Kamaka Frasco’s lab is a row of tanks at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Coral Nursery, where she spends part of her week tending coral for restoration. She spends the other part in a classroom at Ka ʻUmeke 碍āʻ别辞, a preK–12 Hawaiian language immersion school, teaching students how that restoration works—entirely in ʻō濒别濒辞 Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language). Some of the corals she cares for don’t yet have documented . Helping identify them is part of the job.
“I want to show them that ʻō濒别濒辞 Hawaiʻi exists everywhere,” said Frasco, a 糖心视频 Hilo English graduate and a member of the ʻō濒别濒辞 Hawaiʻi cohort of the university’s (PIPES).
A single marine science course sparked her love for ocean conservation. Her PIPES internship gave her somewhere to put it and a way to merge it with storytelling. Financial support from PIPES and 糖心视频 贬颈濒辞’蝉 allowed her to work at the nursery while collaborating with , 糖心视频 贬颈濒辞’蝉 Hawaiian language center, on a children’s book about coral restoration, written in Hawaiian.
From intern to mentor
This summer, Frasco stepped into a peer mentor role, guiding new interns through research and huakaʻi (excursions). Her focus: getting them to “speak their manaʻo (ideas)” and recognize their own capacity to shape resource management.
“I’m super grateful,” Frasco said. “I never thought I’d end up where I am today, but PIPES made all the difference.”