Nicole Hokulani Yamase: Making Way for Pacific Islanders
From snorkeling in island waters to a voyage down the Challenger Deep - Nicole proves - the sky is the limit to what one can accomplish
Nicole Hokulani Yamase, a Micronesian PhD candidate in the Marine Biology program at the University of Hawaii (UH) made history in March this year. She became the first Pacific islander and third woman to reach the Challenger Deep, the deepest part of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. On top of that, she also became the second youngest person to reach the bottom.
Nicole is now an inspiring role model for young Pacific women looking to get involved in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects. She is also an intelligent, hardworking, incredible and very humble person who loves to share her accomplishments with her family, friends and community.
From snorkeling in island waters to UH
Nicole was born in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) but since her family moved around a lot, she grew up on different islands in Micronesia: Palau, Saipan, Pohnpei and Chuuk. She said her dream of going into STEM comes from her experience of growing up being surrounded by water.
Nicole Yamase snorkels and takes photos of algae on a reef in Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia. Picture: CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY OF HONOLULU
“My parents gave me a childhood filled with ocean memories. I’d go snorkeling with my dad on weekends and he’d show me all the cool creatures in the water: fish, coral, and algae. We spent many weekends swimming in the ocean and we’d ride the boat to the outer islands for family picnics”, said the 29-year-old.
Born and raised in a family of nine, Yamase is the third eldest daughter and the first to attend university. She attended different schools in the Micronesia region: she spent her first and second grade years at Mount Carmel School in Saipan; third to fourth grade at San Vicente Elementary School in Saipan; fifth to halfway of sixth grade at Seventh Day Adventist School (SDA) in Pohnpei; other half of sixth grade to eighth grade at SDA in Chuuk and finally Xavier High School in Chuuk before she enrolled at the University of Hawaii (UH), Manoa.
“I chose UH Manoa because they had the Marine Biology Graduate Program and I knew the program was going to provide the right mentorship, support and graduate experience I needed to continue my studies”, she said.
Nicole is currently studying the effects of climate change on ocean plants (seaweeds and other algae), which supply 50% of the earth’s oxygen and are the foundation of food for all ocean life. An example of one of her experiments, as explained by her mentor Dr. Dave Spafford, was the effects of elevated temperatures on one of the NorthWest Hawaiian Islands’ keystone seaweeds.
“I first met Nicole when she was an undergraduate at Chaminade University and it turned out we both share the same concern about the effects of the greenhouse gas emissions on ocean plants”, said Dr Spafford.
“After graduation, Nicole became a PhD student in our lab at UH and we are continuing our research to understand the changes in ocean plants due to climate change and the greenhouse gas emissions.”
“I feel very privileged to have mentored her and I have enjoyed every moment since she is intelligent, thoughtful, cheerful, hardworking and an amazing team player.”
Nicole said she never thought she would come this far in her education, let alone, get accepted into the PhD program.
“I’ve always been so blessed with how opportunities in my life have unfolded and led me from one to another. This is possible through the opportunities that have allowed me to present my research at conferences, speaking on panels and participating in community services”, she said.
Some of the daily activities she enjoys doing besides her research is being outdoors. She enjoys going on hiking and adventure of immersing herself in a new culture, trying new food, and meeting new people. If she is burned out from work, she will go on a hike with friends or plan a short trip to take a break. For her, it is important to have a balance of her academic life if she wants to be productive and stay sane. She also gets to snorkel and collect algae in Hawaii. Some of her favorite moments, she recalled, are when she does community outreach and educates people about algae, and when she gets to help other researchers with their work because she gets to learn other things besides her own work and she also travels to new places to present her research.
Nicole Yamase and Desiree Simandjuntak scuba-dive in Bali, Indonesia. Picture: NICOLE YAMASE
“I learned not to take things too seriously from Nicole, especially with our PhD journeys”, said Desiree Simandjuntak, a friend of Nicole at UH.
“I tend to spend a lot of time focusing on my study, worrying about how I could have done better but Nicole is a chill type of student who reminds me to have fun and enjoy life beyond academia”, Desiree said.
“I’ve been to her lab and helped her with algae growth measurements. I wasn’t involved in technical stuff, though, it was more like helping her carry things from outdoor to indoor and telling her what number appeared on a certain machine for her to copy to her computer.”
“She showed me and explained to me what instruments she used and what they were for. She even took her time explaining things to me because I don’t do algae research and with that kind of patience, she’s a great instructor.”
Nicole said she is grateful for the many people who have helped her and motivated her throughout her academic career, such as her family, friends and advisors.
“My first inspirations are my parents. My dad was the one who inspired me to go into marine biology and my mom taught me how to embrace my diverse background. My second inspiration is my graduate advisor, Dr. Celia Smith, who also believed in me and supported me since I met her in 2013.”
The voyage down the Challenger Deep
Nicole travelled 11 kilometers down the Challenger Deep with Victor Vescovo, an American well-known undersea explorer who visits the deepest points of earth. She got nominated by the Micronesian Conservation Trust in Pohnpei to represent the FSM in this once-in-a-lifetime expedition.
She travelled to Guam and met Victor and his team, and they set out on Victor’s DSS Pressure Drop, a ship that transports a DSV Limiting Factor or a round machine capable of reaching the bottom of the ocean floor. Then in the morning of March 11, Nicole got into the Limiting Factor beside Victor and they descended down into the Challenger Deep. They spent four hours going down, two hours exploring the seafloor and another four hours coming back up which makes up a total of 10 hours in all.
Nicole Yamase waves as she prepares to get inside the Limiting Factor before going down the Challenger Deep. Picture: SCUBA DIVING MEDIA
The most memorable part of the trip for Nicole was when they reached the bottom of the trench.
“I couldn’t believe I made it. All I could think about was how proud the FSM, the whole Micronesia region, the whole Pacific, my family and my ancestors would be when I returned to the top”, she said.
She was amazed by how the ocean floor looks and she described it as a place like a desert underwater. However, she was disappointed when she saw plastic fishing lines on the ocean floor. She is trying to bring awareness to this and how it is a shame that she saw trash in the deepest part of her own territorial waters. This experience has fueled her research in climate change and its impacts on ocean algae, hoping to reduce the effects of such wastes.
Victor said it is about time for someone from the FSM to go down the Challenger Deep because it is right in their territory. For Nicole, getting to represent her home country made her trip so meaningful and helped her focus more on what she can do for her community.
She said she wanted everyone to feel like they went down with her, adding that her accomplishment is not hers alone but the Micronesian region’s as a whole.
“I feel honored and humbled to be recognized as the first Pacific islander to reach the Challenger Deep because many people believed in me. They believed that I was able to represent not just the FSM, but also the whole Micronesia region and I hope that I will continue to make everyone proud.”
Desiree said she is proud of Nicole for putting herself and her community in the broader marine science and deep-sea exploration research.
“We certainly need more representation of women of color in science. Wherever she ends up working after PhD, I hope she continues to be a great researcher who builds knowledge about climate change, algae, and the ocean in general and collaborates with scientists in the Pacific and beyond”, she said.
Hope for the future
Nicole hopes her story will continue to inspire young Pacific women pursuing careers in STEM, which is a field that many hardly choose for fear of failing. She also acknowledges that this barrier could be solved with many more Pacific islanders coming into science and she hopes to help fill in this gap. Her goal after completing her PhD study is to build a marine research lab in Pohnpei, where she plans to provide research opportunities for students, training on how to use field equipment to gather crucial environmental data, and mentoring for students who are interested in STEM. She recognizes that many Micronesian students do not have the opportunity to be exposed to summer internship programs so she hopes this dream would provide resources, mentorship, and experiences needed and mold young Micronesian scientists who will be future leaders in the region.
“I see a sustainable Micronesia. We have so many fierce and young Pacific island warriors who are fighting against environmental issues such as climate change, overfishing and pollution. We are going to combine forces across the globe and strive for a better tomorrow and a sustainable future”, said Nicole.
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