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Hawaii Tribune-Herald Sunday, March 19, 2017 7 Need Tires or Vehicle Repairs? UNIVERSITY TOWN And we take credit card payments over the phone. =) lexbrodiestire.com @LexBrodiesTire DENNIS DOMINGO JENNING TILFAS -16yrs repair experience ALVIN DALMACIO -18 yrs repair experience -15 yrs repair experience ecology, evolution, genetics and geospatial analyses. It trains students for careers in conservation biology and environmental science. It got started in 2004, founded by former University of Hawaii at Hilo faculty member Don Price as one of the first graduate-level programs at the Hilo campus. More than 150 students have graduated since. “For us, this program is just a natural fit for UH-Hilo,” Hart said. “I feel like it’s good for Hilo and the community, too. Students are going out and interacting with people and (performing) a lot of community service. They’re involved in events, they’re working in classrooms — there’s been a lot of community collaboration over the years.” The program began, in part, to fill a need. Previously, most islandbased jobs in resource management were filled by candidates on the mainland. That’s since changed. At least two-thirds of present TCBES students have “some kind of ties,” to the state, said program Director Becky Ostertag. Most all graduates seeking work quickly secure positions, Hart added, and the success rate “of students graduating and getting careers” is “pretty good.” “Of all the students I know who’ve graduated, I don’t know anyone looking for jobs,” he said. TCBES also partners with undergraduate programs Keaholoa and Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science to recruit locally. Among local students is Topaz Collins, 30, an East Hawaii native and TCBES alum now employed at UH-Hilo. Collins said she felt fortunate to have the opportunity to earn a master’s degree close to home. She said she would like to see UH-Hilo eventually expand to offer a doctorate of science. Ron Kittle, a TCBES student from Cincinnati, said he was drawn to the program for its close-knit feel. He said he is studying sea turtle gut bacteria and the program has afforded him multiple trips to Oahu to assist in turtle necropsies. He said he works alongside a team of scientists and veterinarians to swab for bacteria along the turtles’ gastrointestinal tract — a process that’s messy but fascinating. “Being at a smaller school, (the program is) much more intimate, and I feel like you just have so much opportunity here,” Kittle said. “And Hawaii is just such a unique place, there are so many things you can study here.” TCBES eventually wants to expand. It could potentially “double in size,” Ostertag said, but currently its capped due to limited faculty resources. Historically, most TCBES students have pursued a research track toward degree completion which requires more faculty advisers. The program is mulling expansion of its internship track option which would require fewer faculty and make it more sustainable long term, Ostertag said. Day-to-day work in the program “isn’t always easy,” Ostertag added, but those who aren’t afraid to get a little dirty and want to make a difference generally don’t mind. “You have to have an interest and a passion,” Ostertag said. “There’s field work, lab work and a lot of tedium involved. It’s not always comfortable being out in the cold or in the rain or in the heat and mosquitoes. But people who want to make a difference, because they’re motivated by the bigger conservation issues, those are the people we’re looking for. Those are the people who are happiest doing this kind of work.” Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@ hawaiitribune-herald.com. FIELD From page 6


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