Kelsey - Finding Our Kuleana, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Kelsey grew up in Kaneʻohe Bay on the island of Oʻahu, where her love for the ocean began. She took every opportunity available while a student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and made it experiential learning, fueling her passion to protect and educate about the ocean. “It’s every student's responsibility to get out there - to put yourself in the right place to be useful, create those opportunities.”
Kelsey is completing her BS in Marine Biology, and involved in various internships and programs such as the Marine Option Program and Hawaii Ocean Time-Series; while also working at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB).
In ʻolelo Hawaiʻi, kuleana is defined as a right, privilege, concern, or responsibility. "Finding Our Kuleana" is a collection of stories of University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa students who are finding their purpose and sense of responsibility beyond themselves. They are creating, inventing, and changing the way they see and interact with our world. As a university, we are collectively and individually working toward finding our kuleana-our own sense of purpose and service-that we bring to our community, to our profession, to our students, to our campus, our planet, and to ourselves.
The Marine Option Program is a certificate program open to University of Hawaiʻi students from any field of study who have an interest in the ocean. Students have the opportunity to take marine-related coursework, conduct an independent research project or participate in an internship in a marine-related field, research opportunities, networking, job opportunities, field trips, and the opportunity to pursue their passion for marine studies.
Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology is a research institute of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, located on Moku o Lo‘e, an island built entirely on a coral reef! HIMB is a world leader in multidisciplinary research and education in all aspects of tropical marine biology and conservation.
For more Finding Our Kuleana stories, visit manoa.hawaii.edu