Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 9, 1 September 2007 — Kaeo Duarte: heeding tūtū's kuleana to come home and give back [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kaeo Duarte: heeding tūtū's kuleana to come home and give back

On Hawai'i Island, when you hear the sumames Spencer, Bell or Purdy, these names connect you to Waimea and Kōhala immediately. When you hear the name Gomes, Denis or Duarte, Kona quickly flashes across one's screen. The focus of this article is Dr. Kaeo Duarte. Kaeo was raised in the lee of Hualālai, Kona 'Ākau on his family's 'āina in Hōlualoa. Kaeo is the epitomy of ha'aha'a (humility). Getting Kaeo to discuss his past generally and his achievements as a scholar particularly has not been easy. In fact, he did not want to be interviewed (he felt there are others more deserving), but being po'opa'akikl, or stubborn, I insisted, and, out of respect for his elder, he relented and allowed me to proceed. I insisted because one of the intents of my monthly eolumn is to honor special people who give unselfishly of themselves in their quiet, unassuming and special way to "lifting up our people." "Lifting up" reverberates better across the landscape than "helping." The former has a spiritual ring and the latter, a eolonial edge. Someone noticed when Kaeo was an 'ōpio that he was special. I'm sure his parents wanted to keep him near, but they allowed him to leave Kona for Honolulu to live with his mom's family, the Correas in Kuli'ou'ou, where educational opportunities were greater. His mentor was his tūtū, Sister Correa. After St. Louis High School (1991), it was Princeton (B.S.E. in civil and enviromnental engineering in 1995) and M.I.T. (Ph.D. in environmental engineering in 2002). He received his high school diploma at 18 and his Ph.D. at 28. His interest areas are: hydrology, eco-hydrology, hydrologic-eco-nomie modeling and optimization, water management, and indigenous science and resource use. Kaeo could have remained in North America working for a large engineering firm or a prestigious university, earning a six figure salary, pursuing research, publishing papers, traveling and lecturing. His

tūtū felt otherwise. She said he needed to "eome home and give back" to others for all that he was given. He agreed, and his "giving back" is in the form of mentoring, supporting, encouraging and coaching young Hawaiian scholars at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. In a short space of time, he has worked with an impressive list of Hawaiian scholars at UH. A short roster includes: • Kamana Beamer: Kamehameha Schools; A.A. Marymont College; B.A. Hawaiian studies and philosophy, UHMānoa; M.A. geography, UH-Mānoa; pursuing a Ph.D. in Geography, UH-Mānoa. Thesis title: "Nā Wai Ka Mana 'Ōiwi Agency and European Hegemony in the Hawaiian Kingdom." • Aurora Kagawa: Kamehameha Schools; B.S. botany, MIT; pursuing an M.S. in botany at UH-Mānoa. Thesis: "Quantifying Transpiration in Native and Alien Forests from Species to Stand." • Malia Kipapa: Hilo High School; B.S. environmental studies, Chaminade University; pursuing an M.S. in botany at UH-Mānoa. Thesis: "Quantifying the Diets of Feral Sheep on the Island of Hawai'i." • Imiola Lindsey: Hawai'i Preparatory Academy; B.S. Meehanieal Engineering, Santa Clara University; M.S. Electrical Engineering, UH-Mānoa. Thesis: "Device Modeling of Transconductance Threshold Voltage Reference Devices." Presently an engineer with Waimea Water Services. • Chelsie Javar: Ka'ū High School; B.A. in geography, UH-Hilo; pursuing an M.S. in botany at UH-Mānoa. Thesis: "Investigation of plant and animal interactions on Mauna Loa and Hualālai, Hawai'i Island." • Ryan Okano: Hilo High School; B.A. botany, UH-Hilo; MS botany, UH Mānoa. Presently pursuing a Ph.D. in Botany from UH-Mānoa. Thesis: "The Environmental Dynamics of Groundwater, Nutrients, Algae, and Herbivorous fish on Hawai'i's reef." Since space does not allow for it here, in October we will feature some very heartwarming testimonies about Kaeo from eaeh student. Mahalo Kaeo for your efforts to "uplift" our students through the university system. We know the academic world ean be a scary and 'sink or swim' plaee. But they persevere. Mahalo nui for being the "wind beneath their wings." E

Rūbert K. Lindsey. Jr. TrustEE, Hawai'i