Kamaka Frasco¡¯s lab is a row of tanks at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ 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 °¨¡ʻ±ð´Ç, a preK–12 Hawaiian language immersion school, teaching students how that restoration works¡ªentirely in ʻ¨±ô±ð±ô´Ç Â鶹´«Ã½ (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 ʻ¨±ô±ð±ô´Ç Â鶹´«Ã½ exists everywhere,” said Frasco, a UH Hilo English graduate and a member of the ʻ¨±ô±ð±ô´Ç Â鶹´«Ã½ 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 UH ±á¾±±ô´Ç¡¯²õ allowed her to work at the nursery while collaborating with , UH ±á¾±±ô´Ç¡¯²õ 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.”