Alumni News

The Hawaiʻi State 4-H, a program of CTAHR Extension, has brought back its popular cooking contest for keiki. Welcome to the Video Cooking Challenge! The goal is to create a 5-7 minute video that showcases a local commodity (plant or animal) and demonstrates the successful completion of a healthful recipe. You do not need to be a current 4-H member to enter the contest. Please register by May 12 or contact your county agent.

For questions, please contact Nancy Ooki.

CTAHR’s Dietetics program has partnered with the Hawaiʻi Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics for a free online workshop on Health Equity Language. Guest speaker Dr. Jackie Ng-Osorio will discuss “achieving health equity” – reducing stigma and bias through our written and verbal communication so everyone can have a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. Because the words we use to talk about health, people, communities, and populations can help us in achieving health equity, this workshop will focus on teaching participants the strategies to address people inclusively and respectfully, while avoiding language that perpetuates negative stereotypes. 

“Please join us this Thursday! This is a great opportunity to learn and apply skills on how we can use our words and communication to promote health equity,” says Monica Esquivel of the Dept. of Human Nutrition Food and Animal Sciences.

Support is provided by an Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Diversity and Inclusion Award. The event is around the corner, so Register now. For questions, contact Monica.

If you missed having an annual UHM Fashion Show, the good news is, it’s back! For CTAHR’s student designers and fashion promotion students, this year’s Road To Runway: The Fashion Show means the show really does go on. In fact, this year it’s on TV. The Road To Runway telecast premieres May 10 on KFVE 6 and ‘Ōlelo 53, with a livestream on hawaiinewsnow.com. The 55^th annual show will highlight three seniors:

• Helen Park, who was motivated by a desire for the outdoors during the pandemic’s stay-at-home orders for her collection, “Under the Sun”
• Aaron Jay Guillermo, who is inspired by the women in his life for his collection, “After School Special”
• Jade Young, whose favorite color, pink, inspired her collection, “Dazzling A˝

Read the UH News article.

From a young man with a college degree to a now-thriving aquaponics and hydroponics farm – and a shining example of commercial Ag in Hawaiʻi – it’s the inspiring story of how Mari’s Gardens came to be. Presenting a virtual “talk and teach” event with Brendon Lau, CTAHR alum and manager of this 18-acre farm in Mililani, O‘ahu, whose mission is to promote sustainable living, organic urban farming, and buying local.

• Thursday, May 27
• 5:00 p.m. via Zoom
• Free (you may also purchase a “Mari's Gardens + UH Alumni” gift set that includes curated items from Mari's Gardens and UH Alumni swag. $30 until 5/10, then $35)
• Please register in advance. For questions, email contact@uhalumni.org

Brendon will share how this family-owned business has grown and evolved over the years and how CTAHR helped prepare him for what he's doing today. Brendon will also be joined by Ted Radovich of the Dept. of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, as they present a special Home Gardening 101 segment featuring helpful home gardening tips and tricks for various climates.

“Mari’s Gardens is one of Hawaiʻi’s leading innovators in aquaponics, direct marketing and agri-tourism,” says Ted. “As one of his former professors, I’m really excited to chat with Brendon about how his family’s business has grown and adapted with the times.” 

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“Mari’s Gardens” is part of Holoholo at Home, a virtual version of the Holoholo event series by the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation. Holoholo at Home aims to take alumni guests behind the scenes with local academic, business, and University of Hawai‘i leaders for an immersive virtual experience showcasing the wide-ranging knowledge and success of fellow UH alumni.

Good management of open-space rangeland is the raison d'être of the Hawaiʻi Rangeland Stewardship Foundation. And true to its goal of funding a “broad variety of educational, research, and outreach programs targeted at bringing together the best of resource and industry management expertise, science, and those who are the boots on the ground,” the foundation has created a brand-new scholarship – and one of the first recipients is CTAHR Student Ambassador Cody Ching! "Being born and raised in Hawaiʻi, spreading awareness about local food production is very important to me,” says Cody. “I feel we must acknowledge the growing importance of sustainable agriculture in Hawaiʻi and how traditional practices and research are the stepping stones to that goal. My initial interests have developed into a passion for this topic, where not only do I understand the significance, but also feel a responsibility to share my knowledge with future generations."

Cody might be the first, but certainly won’t be the last CTAHR student to benefit from this scholarship. Mahalo, Hawaiʻi Rangeland Stewardship Foundation, for supporting our young conservationists!