Ivanni Jamin ‘20
The calm Pacific waters off the Kohala coast are home to many rare and beautiful creatures, including green sea turtles. For the most part, these peaceful swimmers co-exist with the human population with whom they share the coastline. However, climate change currently threatens the security of green sea turtle populations, as rising temperatures increase the ratio of females in the population.
Issues of climate crisis can be overwhelming, but Ivanni Jamin ‘20 is working to do something in response.“It’s incredible to think about the impact just a degree of temperature increase can do to the green sea turtle population,” Jamin observes. “We have such a responsibility here to do something.”
We have such a responsibility here to do something.”
—Ivanni Jamin ‘20
Originally from Jakarta, Indonesia, Jamin first encountered HPA when her older brothers toured campus during her family’s Hawai‘i vacation six years ago, and she followed their footsteps in becoming a boarding student. Jamin has been part of HPA’s turtle-tagging program since freshman year, an experience that’s made her a passionate advocate for sustainability. Her commitment was recently recognized with the Hiatt Scholarship for Community Service.
As part of Dr. Joanna Anton’s biotechnology capstone class, Jamin had to conceive an individual research project, so she elected to build on her past experience working with green sea turtles. She is collecting data to examine and document the feminization trend; the data will be used by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
“The increase in the ratio of females happens,” Jamin notes, “because turtle gender is determined after the eggs are laid, so beach temperature is critical to gender.” However, because turtles don’t reach maturity until they’re twenty-six years old, gender can’t be checked visually, so blood samples are collected in the field. “I’m collecting data for populations in west Hawai’i Island,” Jamin explains. “I take blood samples in the field, then bring them back to the lab, where I have to centrifuge the blood samples.” At that point, she sends the plasma to NOAA’s lab on O‘ahu, where it is tested for hormones.
Jamin’s past academic experiences at HPA prepared her well for her capstone research. Having taken AP Biology, Jamin had the science background she needed to understand the concepts involved, and her past work with HPA’s turtle tagging program gave her the critical experience in the field.
Jamin hopes to take her experience in biotech research on to college, where she plans to study environmental engineering and politics. According to Jamin, the goal of her education is to “develop the necessary knowledge and skills, so I can advocate for my ideas about what we need to do about our climate crisis.”