Aloha all!
My name is Mija Wheeler. I’m starting my third year as a Computer Engineering major attending the University of Hawai’i at Manoa in my hometown of Honolulu, Hawai’i.
I initially learned programming from my experience in high school robotics. Having grown up going to the beach and hiking, I wanted to learn more about the application of technology in terms of environmental research when I graduated high school.
So in my first semester of college, I landed an internship at a local marine conservation non-profit called Malama Maunalua. During my year with them, I got the wonderful opportunity to build and program low-cost marine habit cameras which have since been used to study coral nursery beds, invasive algae, and sea urchins.
I’m excited about the chance to work as a short-term intern with the Alvin Team aboard the R/V Atlantis this coming July to learn more about the technology used in environmental research.