Education

After high school I ventured to the green state of Oregon to attend Linfield College (Gooooo Wildcats!!!) in the small town of McMinnville. When I say small, I mean the largest store was something like Wal-Mart and it took about 5 minutes to drive through the town.  However small it was, it was home for 4 years and I enjoyed the small town feeling.  Sort of made me feel like I was in Hilo.

Linfield Swimming

I participated in collegiate swimming for 2 years and must say it was a great experience.  With hard work and lots of bags of ice on my knees and shoulders (injuries ugh), I earned spots to participate in the NAIA Nationals my two years. I do have to say those were the highlights of my college years.  I had great coaches and made life long friends with my swim mates.

However, the demanding schedule of entering the educational program led to my decision to ‘retire’ my 14 year swimming career. Volunteering at Linfield’s preschool and various public schools in the area, I slowly picked up strategies and skills from many outstanding teachers.  Eventually all the course work and being a teacher assistant in the schools advanced me to earn a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education.  YAHOO!!!!

Graduating from Linfield College

Deciding that I needed more content knowledge, I returned to my home to enter the University of Hawai`i at Hilo.  Taking various courses from biology, environmental impact, marine science, geology, history, Hawaiian language, and geography I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Geography.

In the near future I hope to earn a masters in education.