Hello Everyone,
Welcome to my blog! I'll be using this to keep y'all updated on my adventures during my time at the University of Hawaii. I leave for the Big Island on December 28th, so stay tuned!

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Aloha! One of the classes I am taking this semester is Biology of Marine Mammals. For lab on Wednesday mornings, we take a boat out in Hilo bay to observe and collect data on humpback whales. During the winter months, humpback whales come all the way down to the warmer waters of Hawaii to mate and raise their young, so my professor takes this as an opportunity to study the whales and allow his students to learn how to collect data that can be applied to real studies. Humpback whale populations have significantly declined in recent years. The data we collect can help us understand their population dynamics better as well as determine the population growth/decline rate. We have only been out once so far, but above is a picture captured by one of the students during lab. It is so incredible that I have this opportunity to study these magnificent animals up close :) Fun Fact: In Hawaii, getting too close to any marine mammal can result in a massive fine. However, if you are carrying a ...
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Aloha Everyone, Unfortunately, I will be leaving tomorrow morning to do my online learning from home. UH has decided to move all classes online for the remainder of the semester, so I have decided to go home in case of a lockdown or if campus closes. I am very sad to go, but it will keep me and those around me more safe. While our lab time was cut short, there were still plenty of pictures to choose from. I have included below a link to a few that I think are very cool. I will miss going out on the boat and seeing the whales (despite the seasickness). It was an incredible opportunity. Aloha, Kate https://photos.app.goo.gl/jj3FKwXcgA1Yz4Gz8  Disclaimer- most of these photos were not taken by me, just others in my class :)
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Hello everyone! This weekend marked the start of my scuba diving course! In case you didn't know, scuba diving is a water activity in which divers use compressed air to breathe underwater. This allows divers to stay down much longer, dive deeper, and explore more than someone breathing from the surface. I figured that if I were to get my scuba certification, it would be best to do it here, where I can actually dive in the ocean instead of a lake or river (and it's much cheaper through UH!!). The course I am taking is the basic Open Water Diving Certification. Upon completion of the course, I am certified to dive up to 60 ft underwater, which is great for recreational and possibly scientific use. The past two days, we learned to read dive tables, how to put together and disassemble our equipment, and practiced a variety of skills needed to become a successful scuba diver. We completed 5 confined water dives, which took place in the campus pool. The hardest thing to get used t...
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