Alumni News

Congrats to Robert Paull for his recent Fellow of the American Society of Plant Biology Award! Robert, of the Dept. of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, comprises less than 0.2% of the ASPB membership who receive this prestigious honor. He will be formally recognized June 22-26 at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center during the Annual Plant Biology Conference of the ASPB.  

Only three recipients nationwide in 2024 will earn the Keller Scholarship in Conservation Horticulture from Botanic Gardens Conservation International and Garden Club of America – and CTAHR’s own Gracianne Young is one of them.

Recruiting future students is a vital part of maintaining a healthy college program.  Throughout the year, faculty attend college fairs at local schools and talk to students about a career in the field of fashion.  “Students often have a preconceived idea of what opportunities exist in fashion and college fairs are a good way to help students find a good fit,” Andy Reilly, professor in FDM, said. “Our presence at the college fairs benefit both the student and our program as many of the students aren’t aware that a fashion program exists at UH Manoa,” shared Dr. Cristi-Kim.

Drs. Abby Cristi-Kim and Andy Reilly attended a career and college fair at Farrington High School on April 26, 2024, to talk to potential students about the FDM program.  They estimate they met with about 100 students who expressed interest in learning more about the program and what it can do for them.  Many of the students they talked with had taken, or were planning to take, fashion courses offered at Farrington High School.  The students they talked with said they wanted to be a designer, own their own store, or work in sales.  

Their efforts have paid off as well; 114 students have applied to the FDM program for Fall 2024. 

By Andrew Reily & Abby Cristi-Kim

CTAHR’s mission is to secure the future of Hawaiʻi by building local self-sufficiency in food and agricultural products, noted Dean Parwinder Grewal at the first CTAHR Conference April 11. “CTAHR’s inclusive vision is to secure the future of Hawaiʻi through collaborative innovation and merging the Western, Asian, Hispanic, and Native Hawaiian knowledge systems,” he said.

The CTAHR ‘Ohana Banquet drew a sizable and smiling crowd to the Japanese Cultural Center the evening of April 12. Festooned end-to-end with spectacular floral arrangements that rival any other event in the state, bar none, the aesthetics in the ballroom were a testament to the Hawaiian concept of laulima – with many hands the work is lighter.