Alumni News

With names like Magnificent Contemporary Hepburn and Comfey Dream, the design outfits of Jade Young and Natsuki Sugimoto will be presented Nov. 3-4 to a global audience during the upcoming International Textiles & Apparel Association’s 2021 Conference. Jade, a senior design student in the Fashion Design and Merchandising program of the Dept. of Family and Consumer Sciences, and Natsuki, a 2020 FDM graduate, will compete with other students across the country for awards and recognition in marketable designs, textiles, and sustainable designs.

“I am proud of Jade and Natsuki for their achievements,” says design mentor Minako McCarthy. “I cannot wait to see their designs exhibiting on a national stage. Their achievements will positively impact the FDM community and program, and help motivate other students in their future creations.”

Learn more about the 2021 ITAA Virtual Annual Conference.

Turning misfortune into a new opportunity is what we do at Oʻahu 4-H. So with Covid restrictions, we decided to create a virtual “Giant Pumpkin Contest” similar to the traditional “Giant Fruit and Vegetable Contest” on the Big Island. We’ve even added a CTAHR Choice Award! That means voting for the Giant Pumpkin Contest is now open to our CTAHR community! which includes all faculty, staff, students, and community partners. That means you! Video entries will be posted on our Facebook and Instagram (@giantpumpkinoahu) pages.

Voting is open NOW until September 27 at 8:00 pm Hawaiʻi time.

The total number of “likes” for each entry on the Facebook and Instagram pages will be combined to determine the recipient of the 2021 Giant Pumpkin Contest CTAHR Choice Award! An anouncement of the recipient will be made in late September on our webpage and in CTAHR Notes.

As in years past, we’ll also have a Youth Choice Award. Youth ages 3-19 years old can vote (please have only youths participate) on a poll with one vote each! Youth Choice Award polls are open now until 9/27 8:00 pm Hawaiʻi time.

The contest is led by our Giant Pumpkin Contest Planning Team, which includes Josh Silva, Edible Crops Assistant Extension Agent; Kate Eickstead, Military 4-H Program Coordinator; Kalani Matsumura, Master Gardener Coordinator and Junior Extension Agent; Christine Hanakawa, Oʻahu 4-H Assistant Extension Agent; and Jhanella Gerardo, Hawaiʻi State FFA Officer and Waipahu High FFA Chapter.

Mahalo for everyone’s support. Now get out there and vote!

Are you an undergraduate student at UHM, interested in improving sustainable agriculture and food security for Hawaiʻi through research or innovative programing?

Then consider joining CTAHR’s Food Systems Working Group. Students will work with UH faculty and high school students to explore and identify a potential project on food security and sustainability in Hawaiʻi, as well as apply for funding from the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). The deadline to apply is October 10.

“Our working group seeks to help address food security in Hawaiʻi,” says Sothy Eng of the Dept. of Family and Consumer Sciences. “We are looking for students who want to be part of the solution! The proposed food systems projects should contribute to one of three major global challenges: population health, economic development, or environmental sustainability.”

The Food Systems Working Group notes that “A food systems approach to food and health encompasses many intricately related factors in getting food from farm to consumer. This includes the inputs, mechanisms, and structures for food production, processing, distribution, acquisition, preparation, and consumption, as well as the farmers, ranchers, fishers, workers, governments, institutional purchasers, communities, and consumers who participate in that system — and their contributions to overall health.

This approach recognizes that complex systems have many inputs and outputs. Health and other outcomes must emerge from the system as a whole, not by focusing on any single component. Interacting parts work synergistically, each as a complement to the other and each supporting the system as a whole.”

Learn more CTAHR’s Food Systems Working Group. For questions, contact Sothy.

“I’m shocked, SHOCKED, to find that door prizes are going on in CTAHR!” – anonymous state official. No worries, because for this year’s UHM Aloha United Way campaign, all faculty and staff in the CTAHR database get a free ticket for a chance to win an awesome box set of door prizes from the Office of Communication Services (OCS). These include:

• 1 CTAHR polo shirt (traditional or brand new design)
• 1 CTAHR baseball cap (sweeet!)
• 1 CTAHR groceries bag (high-quality canvas)
• 1 CTAHR baby onesie (not pictured but incoming)

But wait, there’s more! Every time you donate to the UHM AUW, you get a second ticket. Donate again and you’ll get a third ticket. Just pay separate shipping and handling (just kidding).

At end of the UHM AUW campaign (Oct. 8), OCS will obtain a list from AUW of all CTAHR donors and donations, add these extra tickets to the CTAHR directory list, pull a random ticket, and announce the lucky winner of this fabulous door prize.

How to donate online:

1. Visit UHM AUW
2. Log on with your UH ID and Default Password “”
3. Create a personal AUW account
4. Donate online
5. Also visit Instructions and FAQs if any questions.

Operators are standing by! So visit the UHM AUW campaign now and boost your chances for winning cool CTAHR gear.

The Hawaiʻi Floriculture & Nursery Association is teaming up with Extension for the 2021 Hawaiʻi Ornamental Research Webinar & Growers’ Field Day. Broadcast from CTAHR’s Komohana Research & Extension Center (webinar) and hosted at the Waiakea Research Station (field day) in Hilo, the two-day event is for growers to learn about new innovations and developments in the ornamental industry in Hawaiʻi, get crucial updates from USDA ARS PBARC and CTAHR researchers, and explore the most current pest- and disease-free varieties of products available to our industry.

Through a series of short presentations, researchers will discuss myrtaceae import replacements, anthurium breeding programs, thrips resistance-management practices, sunflower variety trials, proteas, burrowing nematode management, and cymbidium trials.

The event is just a week away, so register today. For questions, contact Joanna Bloese.

Sponsored by the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture, Hawaiʻi County Department of Research & Development, USDA Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, Hawaiʻi Floriculture and Nursery Association, Nutrien, and CTAHR Extension.

Please note: Participants will be required to wear a face mask or covering for the duration of the event and sanitize their hands upon arrival. Participants must either be fully vaccinated or present a negative Covid test result (PCRtest) within the last 7 days.