How Do You Do, from our new CEP Intern, Thomas Wood

Myself working on new teaching resources.
Photo taken by Casey Ching 

Hello everyone and it is a pleasure to meet you,

It may be obvious from the pictures, but I'm not from around here, so let me take a moment to introduce myself. I'm Thomas Wood, a new intern/volunteer here at HIMB through the Institute of Global Studies Programme for roughly the next 3 months. Hawaii is a 10 hour time difference and over 7,250 miles away from my home in jolly old England. Being an born, raised and a proud Englishman, experiencing Hawaii has always been a dream of mine, and I feel privileged to have the opportunity to be here on the island, let alone at this wonderful facility.

I spent four years at the University of Plymouth, studying and achieving a BSc (Hons) Geography, followed up with an MSc Applied Marine Science. I graduated in September 2014 and during my time studying for my MSc, I helped be a key part of the development of a local American Football Team, Torbay Trojans. Yes! It is a massively growing sport in the UK! I also had the opportunity to climb Mt Kilimanjaro for charity for the Meningitis Research Foundation as a nice side project.

Coral reef monitoring. Photo taken by Casey Ching

HIMB was a common talking point throughout my time at university in England, mainly due to the studies that have come out from this Institute. Therefore, I feel blessed to have the opportunity to be here and learning from some of the best names in the marine science field. I am still discovering what I want to do next, but undertaking a Ph.D. (hopefully in marine conservation) and then teaching at a university is definitely something which I have a keen interest in.

Hawaii and its beautiful culture, history and scenery is something I am enjoying, but I am also intrigued to experience Hawaii's marine culture and how it is conserved, stewarded, and will be kept by future generations. I hope to hone in on specific aspects that stimulate my own learning and that I can utilize in the future. During my time here, Mark, Casey and the volunteers, will entrust me to learn, experience and then lead educational tours of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology to a plethora of visitors and hopefully inspire future generations of marine scientists.

Still working hard on making the best resources
for future visitors and hopefully for you!
Photo taken by Casey Ching.

In my short time here, so far of just over 3 weeks, I have already helped with a couple tours, including assisting on a truly memorable cultural group from Le Fetuao Samoan Language Centre, followed by my first tour to a group of study abroad students from China. But wait, there's more! My Superbowl weekend was first spent aiding Leon with a brilliant Girl Scout Troop overnight, teaching them about night plankton and the different wavelengths of visible light to which plankton are variably attracted to. Don't fret though, the overnight ended in time so that I still managed to catch the game.

I am really grateful to everyone here for being so welcoming and giving me the opportunity to be a part of HIMB, surrounded by excellent staff, volunteers and faculty. I also would like to thank Dr David Adams at the Institute of Global Studies for also allowing me to do this once in a lifetime experience.

Have a brilliant weekend, and I look forward to hopefully seeing you all soon!

Aloha

Thomas