Originally from Las Vegas, Holly Hoffbauer ’19 chose HPA because of place-based learning opportunities in her field of passion, marine biology. She quickly became involved in HPA’s sea turtle program and found herself in the midst of some pretty remarkable research at the high school level. In early February, Hoffbauer co-presented at the International Sea Turtle Symposium held at UNC-Chapel Hill in South Carolina. This annual symposium brings together roughly 800 experts from around the world.
Attending with Hoffbauer were Sara Thiel ’20 and HPA faculty members Marc Rice and Laura Jim, who direct the program. Over the years, more than 2,000 HPA students have joined the school’s turtle research efforts, often in collaboration with NOAA research scientists. “It’s been really inspiring to work alongside professionals, talk about their field of study, and imagine what I could do in the future,” says Hoffbauer of her involvement.
In South Carolina, our HPA foursome presented findings from Moso Island in the Republic of Vanatu collected last year. On that trip, the group was joined by Tess Savage ’19 in tagging three post-nesting hawksbill sea turtles. The goal was to study migration patterns, since this particular turtle population has received little study. “One of the reasons for choosing Vanuatu,” Hoffbauer explains, “was to promote protection of this species and to get the local community involved.”
Their study showed intriguing migration patterns. One turtle migrated locally, staying within the New Caledonia region, but the two others went as far as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. This research has future implications, Hoffbauer notes, “for understanding the importance of protecting sea turtles on an international scale.”
In addition to marine biology, HPA has fostered Hoffbauer’s commitment to community service. In particular, she took the lead on bringing Special Olympics programs to the HPA campus and creating opportunities for other students to get involved in this nationally-known program. For Hoffbauer, the link between service and her love for marine biology is the idea of conservation and the notion of service to the planet. “To protect our oceans, to work toward saving them,” she observes, “that’s part of giving back to the world.” This fall, Hoffbauer will continue with her vision at the University of Hawai‘i Manoa, not far from the Kona Coast turtles she’s worked so hard to protect.