{"id":216372,"date":"2025-05-20T14:43:51","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T00:43:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=216372"},"modified":"2025-05-20T14:43:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T00:43:51","slug":"uh-hilo-grad-roots-career-in-aina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/20\/uh-hilo-grad-roots-career-in-aina\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> Hilo grad roots career in \u02bb\u0101ina"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Bearden
Rosemary Bearden collects samples to test for Rapid ʻŌhiʻa<\/span> Death.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rosemary Bearden has always felt a strong connection to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s native plants and animals. This spring she graduated from the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo with a degree in biology<\/a>, and is now preparing to turn that connection into action\u2014helping to care for and restore Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island\u2019s precious ecosystems.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m deeply passionate about their conservation and protection,” she said.<\/p>\n

Bearden graduated on May 17 as a UH<\/abbr> Hilo Chancellor\u2019s Scholar, a full-tuition award for local high school graduates with strong leadership and academic performance. She grew up on the H\u0101m\u0101kua Coast and graduated from Wai\u0101kea High School in 2021.<\/p>\n

\"Bearden
Bearden prepares a native dry forest plant for planting at Puʻu<\/span> Waʻawaʻa<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n
\"Bearden
Outplanting m\u0101mane trees<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

Hands-on conservation<\/h2>\n

During her time at UH<\/abbr> Hilo, Bearden gained hands-on experience in the field. Under biology Professor Becky Ostertag, she explored the effect of shade on the health of outplanted trees in a Hawaiian lowland wet forest. She also credits biology Professor Patrick Hart with inspiring her interest in native bird conservation.<\/p>\n

“I love volunteering because it allows me to get out into the field—and m\u0101lama ʻ\u0101ina (care for the land),” said Bearden, who worked with organizations such as the Mauna Kea Forest Restoration Project and the Three Mountain Alliance.<\/p>\n

In summer 2023, she joined the Kupu Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Youth Conservation Corps, where she gained experience while learning about conservation rooted in Native Hawaiian culture.<\/p>\n

Studying abroad: ‘Absolutely amazing’<\/h2>\n

According to Bearden, a highlight of her college journey was studying abroad in Aotearoa\/New Zealand.<\/p>\n

“It was an absolutely amazing experience,” she said. “I especially loved meeting like-minded people from other countries and, of course, spending time in nature there.”<\/p>\n

This summer, Bearden will intern with the Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science<\/a> also known as PIPES, which supports ʻ\u0101ina (land)-based learning and career development. After that, she\u2019s planning to pursue a full-time role in conservation.<\/p>\n

For more go to UH<\/abbr> Hilo Stories<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UH<\/abbr> Hilo Chancellor Scholar Rosemary Bearden earned a biology degree in spring 2025 and is ready for a career in conservation on Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[254,234,665,14,907],"class_list":["post-216372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-biology","tag-commencement","tag-conservation","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-hilo-stories","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216372"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":216394,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216372\/revisions\/216394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}