Bridging tradition and technology: Meet Tori Kiliʻohu Cashman Valdez

Tori Kiliʻohu Cashman Valdez will graduate from UH Hilo this May with a a double major in Hawaiian Studies (BA) and Environmental Science (BS), before returning this fall for the Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science (TCBES) master’s program.

Tori Kiliʻohu Cashman Valdez has spent her UH Hilo years training in everything required to care for the ʻāina — ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi over late nights with fellow haumāna at Kīpuka, aerial imagery analysis in the SDAV Lab the next morning. This Spring 2026, she graduates with a double major in Environmental Science (BS) and Hawaiian Studies (BA), headed into a master’s program where the full breadth of her training meets a single research focus.

Valdez conducts field research to protect the ʻāina, seamlessly integrating indigenous knowledge and modern ecological data.

For Valdez, the choice to pursue two seemingly different degrees was a natural extension of her upbringing in Waimea, Hawaiʻi and Kailua, Oʻahu. “We very intimately see the connection between the condition of our ʻāina and its impact on our livelihoods,” she explained. This “‘āina-first” perspective is what led her to UH Hilo’s Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani, where she found a community dedicated to the perpetuation of culture. “We cannot care for ‘āina in Hawaiʻi without that ʻike about language, about culture, about people, about history,” Valdez says. “Although it might look very different on paper, it’s very much similar in my eyes.”

Valdez says she was deeply inspired by her ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi class with associate professor of Hawaiian Language and Literature, Kumu Hiapo Perreira, PhD, whose passion for language unlocked a desire for her to find even more meaningful ways to solidify the intersection of ʻike Hawaiʻi in and across all areas of life in Hawaiʻi — including her interest in science.

Valdez’s time at UH Hilo has been defined by rigorous academic achievement and high-level research. Working in the Spatial Data Analysis and Visualization (SDAV) Lab under geography and environmental science Professor Ryan Perroy, PhD, she has utilized aerial imagery for coconut rhinoceros beetle detection and presented her findings at the Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference.

Despite a grueling schedule — often reaching 18 credits per semester in order to complete her double major within four years — Valdez found her “home away from home” through Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Student Center. “Hilo takes care,” she noted, reflecting on nights spent playing music and speaking ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi with friends. “Hilo makes it easier [to be away from home].”

Valdez’s journey at UH Hilo doesn’t end with her undergraduate degrees. She has already been accepted into the Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science (TCBES) master’s program, where she will use LIDAR technology to protect cultural historic sites from climate change.

“I feel like this project was kind of meant for me, just because I’m coming with that ʻike Hawaiʻi background,” Valdez shares. “I have the opportunity and the perspective to care for it in a different way than someone who’s coming from some outside point of view.”

Valdez, pictured here with her horse Jedi, credits her upbringing in mahiʻai kalo and ranching for her lifelong committment to the mission of sustainable land management.

Her ultimate goal is to serve as a sustainable land manager, ensuring a vibrant future for the lands that raised her.

To those considering UH Hilo, Valdez’s story is a clear signal of the opportunities that await. To current students, she is a reminder that the “marathon” of every semester leads to a moment of profound fulfillment.

“I think I’ll feel relieved and happy in the moment, but excited to keep on going,” Valdez says of her upcoming graduation. As she crosses the stage this Spring, she carries with her the pride of her ʻohana, the legacy of her kupuna, and a vision for Hawaiʻi that bridges the past and the future.