Mapping Hawaiʻi's future, one student at a time

For the first time, the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo hosted GIS Day, bringing an industry-standard celebration of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) directly to Hawaiʻi Island high school students. Organized by Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) and their STEMworks program, the event marked a significant expansion of STEM outreach to rural communities, previously held only on Oʻahu and Maui.

The event transformed the UH Hilo campus into a living laboratory, where students from Keaʻau, Hilo, Waiākea, Hawaiʻi Academy of Arts & Science, and Ke Kula ʻO Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu explored how mapping technology is used to solve real-world problems.

“I think events like this are really important to get the students involved,” said UH Hilo geography and environmental science professor Ryan Perroy, a member of the event organizing team. “Anytime we can get local students here to UH Hilo and see the facilities and see different projects, it’s fantastic.”

Connecting Students to Real-World Solutions

From tracking invasive species to mapping lava flows, students saw firsthand how GIS technology is critical to Hawaiʻi’s future. Workshops included drone and LiDAR demonstrations, wayfinding with the Stellarium app in the Cyber Canoe room, and using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to see beneath the earth’s surface.

“The most surprising thing was when we got to use one of the scanners that they use to see under the ground,” said Kambree, a junior at Keaʻau High School. “I thought that was cool, because they want to make it a point to make sure that they don’t harm the actual land.”

For Heston, a 10th grader at Waiākea High School, the event opened her eyes to the breadth of the field. “I thought it was very fun and very cool to learn about these new ways of mapping. Not just on land, but also in space,” the aspiring engineer said. “They map the stars with canoes, and they map different landforms with drones. And then we also learned how they map lava flows.”

UH Hilo Prof. Ryan Perroy demonstrates some of the technology that is used for 3D mapping

Empowering Rural Communities

The event was spearheaded by local educators who saw a need to bring these opportunities home. Robin Kauka, a CTE instructor at Keaʻau High School, was instrumental in advocating for the event’s expansion to Hilo.

“I have students that have never been to the other side of the island,” Kauka explained. “Just having this opportunity to not just see the microcosm that they’re in, but that the world is a bigger place, and that they can have a part in how we develop what’s out there.”

Lalaine Pasion, STEMworks Program Manager at MEDB, emphasized the impact of representation. “A lot of times students in rural areas don’t know what’s out there and available to them,” she said. “I believe the students did not even know what GIS really was or that there is a huge industry right here in their community,” she said. “There’s so many careers out there, and we want to make sure that these students understand that there is a field in GIS that they’re able to explore, have access to it, and see real industry at work — especially here at UH Hilo.”

A Pathway to the Future

By connecting students with industry professionals from organizations like The MEGA Lab, and the County of Maui Emergency Management Agency — GIS Day aimed to illuminate career paths right here in Hawaiʻi.

“We’re going to need folks who have that geospatial expertise and technique,” Perroy noted, highlighting the need for local talent in conservation and planning.

For students like Kambree, the experience was a clear success. “It exposes students a lot more to the college, and shows them what fields they can be interested in and what they could pursue as a possible future job,” she said, giving the day an "A" grade.

Heston agreed. “I think these events can help us learn what pathway we want to go on in the future and discover what we like the most.”

Officials say it’s so much more than a STEM event — it’s a commitment to rural students, local talent, and building Hawaiʻi’s future workforce in geospatial science.

“The kids were really engaged. They had a chance to experience things that they didn’t know,” explained Kauka. “The whole idea about GIS, they just thought it was like one small facet, but because we had so many opportunities to see how it is incorporated into so many other things, like Hawaiian culture, the geology, we did the mapping of eco forest and things like that — they have a better understanding now. It was really exciting.”

The event was a collaborative effort supported by the UH Hilo College of Natural and Health Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, PISCES, SDAV Hilo, and numerous community partners — all working together to ensure that the next generation of Hawaiʻi’s problem solvers is ready to lead.

With free-access, free transportation, and guidance from industry professionals — GIS Day Hilo plants the seeds of tomorrow’s scientists, engineers, navigators, planners, mappers, and caretakers of our island home.

More than 100 students from students from Keaʻau, Hilo, Waiākea, Hawaiʻi Academy of Arts & Science, and Ke Kula ʻO Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu participated in UH Hilo's first-ever GIS Day