We are very pleased to announce that two FDM instructors, Minako McCarthy and Abby Cristi-Kim, have completed their PhD programs in the College of Education in the Educational Foundations program.
Minako McCarthy completed her PhD program in Fall 2022. Her dissertation focused on biases within multicultural and diverse education environments. Minako is an instructor of design and teaches design techniques, collection development, and fashion show production. She was motivated to pursue a PhD to improve her practices inside the classroom. “For the future,” Minako said, “I would like to expand my research areas to students’ intersectional in fashion in Hawai`i and elsewhere.”
Abby Cristi-Kim completed her PhD program in Spring 2023. Her dissertation focused on undergraduate mentoring and relational pedagogy, which aligns with her duties within FDM, teaching classes in merchandising, internship, and capstone. Abby has observed that a strong mentor-student relationship impacts the undergraduate experience in professional, personal, and collaborative ways. She said, “providing undergraduates the mentorship they need can ultimately lead to more resilient students, increased connectedness to the program and institution, as well as the development of relationships that can last a lifetime.”
Dr. Thao Le, the Family and Consumer Sciences Chair, noted, that “Abby has been an instructor for FDM for 25 years, and Minako for 12 years. They both teach essential courses for the department, and are valued and appreciated for their ability to connect and care for students. We are very proud of Abby’s and Minako’s latest achievement, a testimony of their commitment to education and life-long learning, to students, and a reflection of their hard-work ethic.”
Congratulations Dr. McCarthy and Dr. Cristi-Kim!
--Andy Reilly