UH Hilo alumna Maria Steadmon talks about marine science, pathogens, and softball
Microbiologist Maria Steadmon is currently working at the Hawaiʻi Department of Health testing wastewater while heading research into coastal water pathogens. She says her time at UH Hilo as a student-athlete shaped her both as a scientist and a person.
Microbiologist Maria Steadmon (Marine Science, 2019) says that since graduating from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, she continues to “keep giving back” with her research.
She is the lead researcher for the recently published study, “Detection and modeling of Staphylococcus aureus and fecal bacteria in Hawaiian coastal waters and sands” (Water Environment Research, May 2024), for which the research was conducted in East Hawaiʻi Island waters when she was an undergraduate at UH Hilo.
While laying that foundation for becoming a marine scientist, Steadmon also played center field for the UH Hilo women’s softball team, illustrating the commitment and tenacity she brings to all her work.
And now, with a doctoral degree from UH Mānoa in biological oceanography, she has just started a new job at the Hawaiʻi Department of Health State Laboratories Division where she is tasked with monitoring levels of respiratory viruses within the state.
From Huntington Beach to Hilo
Steadmon grew up in Huntington Beach, California, where she developed a love for the ocean.
“One of my favorite things to do was to go down to the beach with my friends, go swim, watch people surfing,” she says. “Through that I realized I wanted to do something that kept me close to the ocean.”
This interest in the ocean became scientific after she took an advanced placement environmental science course in high school. The class curriculum covered marine biology and marine science topics.
“We were actually able to get scuba certified, that kind of solidified my interest in marine science,” she says.
High school not only grew Steadmon’s love for marine science, but also furthered her passion for softball. She started playing at the age of five, and in high school earned all-league honors in 2013 and 2015.
Also in 2015, she received a U.S. Marine Corps High School Award that recognizes outstanding female high school athletes who excel at both sports and academics. By senior year, she knew she wanted to continue playing softball in college.
UH Hilo was a perfect fit for the student-athlete.
“I picked UH Hilo because I wanted to study marine science there and I had read online and seen reviews that it was a great program,” she says.
Steadmon then contacted the coach of the UH Hilo softball team who offered her a scholarship. “Of course I’m going to take that because not only could I play softball but I could also study marine science.”
Juggling science and sport
Balancing rigorous marine science requirements and sports at UH Hilo wasn’t always easy for Steadmon. Mentors and coaches provided support.
Marine science professor Tracy Wiegner provided immeasurable support as advisor and mentor for Steadmon’s senior thesis research project on marine water quality. That support continued with Prof. Wiegner serving on Steadmon’s doctoral committee. “She definitely shaped me into who I am today as a scientist.”
- UH Hilo researchers find high bacteria levels at six popular coastal spots in Hilo (UH Hilo Stories, June 26, 2024)
While an undergraduate, Steadmon also received support juggling her studies with softball commitments.
“We’re the only school in the nation that has to fly to every away game,” she says. “It does take a lot of time and energy during the season, all the traveling, and that’s exhausting.”
It also takes a supportive coaching staff and careful planning. If she had a lab that was four hours long, the coach would allow her to miss practice that day and make it up another time. She credits softball assistant coach Fred Entilla as an important mentor and source of support during her time as a Vulcan. “He was always so supportive and helpful, helped us outside of hours if we needed advice for the game.”
And within that student-athlete support network, Steadmon excelled with high academic achievement year after year.
- Sixty-six UH Hilo Vulcans honored for academic achievement (UH Hilo Stories, April 5, 2018)
- University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo announces 2016 athletes of the year (UH Hilo Stories, May 3, 2016)
- National STUDENT-Athlete Day: 78 Vulcan student-athletes recognized for excellence (April 6, 2016)
Despite the intricate planning it took to make softball and school work, Steadmon remembers her softball matches as a Vulcan as some of her favorite times. “I took a lot of pride in being a student athlete. It was a lot of fun, getting to wear that jersey and represent something bigger than yourself.”
Serendipitous encounter leads to doctoral degree and career in studying pathogens
After graduating from UH Hilo in 2019 with her bachelor of science in marine science with high honors, Steadmon unexpectedly launched into a doctoral studies program in biological oceanography at UH Mānoa. This leap from BS to PhD involved a serendipitous connection.
While living in Hilo, she was doing volunteer work at Kīholo fishpond in Kona and met a faculty member from UH Mānoa who had just received a grant to do waterborne pathogen research.
“We had never met before, and it was just crazy chance that we started talking and then she asked me to be her graduate student,” says Steadmon, explaining that “my graduate program was my doctoral program. I was asked to join Dr. Kiana Frank’s lab as a Ph.D. student. My focus was biological oceanography.”
Steadmon notes the transition from UH Hilo to UH Mānoa was easy. “I felt very prepared.”
While at UH Mānoa, she worked as a research assistant for the Pacific Biosciences Research Center. In 2022, she became an Association of Public Health Laboratories infectious disease fellow, doing research on human pathogens in wastewater. She received her doctoral degree from UH Mānoa in 2024 having successfully defended her dissertation on the environmental drivers of Staphylococcus aureus dynamics and survival in Hawaiian recreational waters.
“Don’t Give Up”
Steadmon has just started a new job as a wastewater microbiologist with the Hawaiʻi Department of Health State Laboratories Division, the same place where, as a student, she completed her doctoral fellowship. She and the DOH wastewater microbiologist team test city wastewater for the presence of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19.
Steadmon reflects on her learning journey with much laughter and cheerfulness.
“UH Hilo was definitely the foundation for me, to build as a scientist and as a person. I learned so much both through school, through softball, through life lessons. I’m really grateful to Hilo for that. It will always hold a special place in my heart,” she says with a smile.
The former student-athlete offers special advice for future student-athletes who, like her, will face the difficulties of balancing their studies with their sport.
“Don’t give up. It does seem impossible sometimes being a student-athlete. You’re exhausted from practice and you don’t want to study or do your homework. Just keep trying as hard as you can. The professors are so understanding and so supportive. So are the coaches.”
She says she hopes to someday make her way back to Hilo. “I just love Hilo so much, and I always will.”
Story by Sophia Kim-O’Sullivan, a graduate student in library science and information at UH Mānoa.
