Each winter, the Scholars Programs team leads the cohort of first-year Hanlon Scholars on a research immersion trip designed to broaden students' understanding of what research can look like across disciplines, methodologies, and communities. For the 2025 Winterim experience, the team selected Oʻahu and the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, a choice that closely aligned with the academic interests of the Class of 2029 Hanlon Scholars.
The students arrived at Dartmouth with interests spanning the biological sciences and environmental engineering to mathematics, artificial intelligence, linguistics, and Indigenous language preservation. The trip was structured around three interrelated research themes: sustainability and Hawaiian ecology; Hawaiian language and culture; and volcanology and geology. Prior to departure, students completed assigned readings across these areas and submitted guiding questions to help frame their learning. During the trip, the scholars participated in a thoughtfully designed program emphasizing experiential learning, critical reflection, and community-building. Following the trip, they submitted written reflections on their experiences. This article brings together highlights from the research explored during the trip, along with selected student reflections and quotations.
Sustainability and Hawaiian Ecology
The sustainability thread began with a visit to Ho'okua'aina, a nonprofit kalo (taro) farm committed to food sovereignty, cultural education, and land stewardship. Founded in 2007 by Dean and Michele Wilhelm, Ho'okua'aina emerged from a vision to restore a parcel of land overtaken by invasive species. Through years of hands-on labor, the Wilhelm family cleared the land and revived traditional kalo farming practices that predate Western settlement on the islands.
Before entering the loʻi (taro patch), students gathered in a circle with Meakala Wilhelm, a Dartmouth '25, who returned to her family's land out of a deep commitment to cultural restoration through land stewardship. The visit prompted scholars to reflect critically on the intersections of environmental science, cultural practice, and community well-being. As Nica Alimzhanov '29 reflected, "As Meakala spoke, facts from our readings surfaced and refused to leave: the dramatic decline of kalo cultivation, the disproportionate health burdens faced by Native Hawaiians, and the nutritional importance of kalo as a sustainable food source. Reading those statistics was informative. Standing in the mud made them personal."
Students worked alongside one another, cleaning kalo leaves and stems and rebuilding the mud structures that support plant growth—some standing chest-deep in the loʻi. For many, the physical labor reframed their assumptions about what research can look like. As Roen Peralta '29 observed, "I often picture research occurring in a lab or by processing a large quantity of text and data. Hawaiʻi reminded me that there are opportunities to conduct physical, hands-on research in many fields."
Learning about the cultural and historical significance of kalo also reshaped how students understood sustainability. For Dylan Striek '29, sustainability extended beyond environmental longevity to include the preservation of culture and collective memory. He reflected, "In Hawai'i specifically, agriculture was not presented as an industry optimized for yield, but as a reciprocal system that was rooted in mythology with odes to kinship and long-term balance, even sharing stories of the dangers of selfishness. To them, kalo is not simply a crop but a genealogically and spiritually significant marker of Hawaiian culture."
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The group covered in mud after a rewarding morning of work in the loʻi. (Left to right: Jack Egge, Nica Alimzhanov, Finn Cairns, Dylan Striek, Roen Peralta).
Through the experience, the scholars observed how traditional Hawaiian agricultural systems intersect with modern research practices and data collection. Finn Cairns '29 was surprised to learn that the farm is "increasing their data collection from the kalo they harvest to inform future planting practices," while still grounding their work in place-based knowledge and firsthand observation.
Students continued their exploration of environmental science during an evening visit to Moku o Lo'e with the Hawaiʻi Institute for Marine Biology (HIMB). They toured research facilities, including coral resilience tanks and a 3D printing lab focused on shoreline restoration. Students also built small light traps to attract zooplankton. Despite the pouring rain, they headed out to the docks at the lab to deploy the traps and collect their plankton samples, maintaining high spirits throughout the process. Through this hands-on activity, scholars learned about the critical role zooplankton play in global oxygen production, their position within the marine food web, and the environmental conditions necessary to sustain their populations.
The visit also introduced students to the traditional ahupuaʻa system, which emphasizes the interconnectedness of land from mountain to sea. As Jack Egge '29 reflected, "My favorite research location from the trip was HIMB. It exposed me to a subject I haven't focused on before, and showed me how Hawaiian practices and terms like "ahupuaʻa" connect to modern science". Together, these experiences exposed scholars to ecological research approaches that moved beyond narrow conceptions of scientific inquiry, highlighting the critical role of place-based knowledge in shaping sustainable futures.
Hawaiian Language, Culture, and Education
The second research thread centered on Hawaiian language and culture, with a particular focus on language revitalization and education. Scholars and community educators Pele and Kekoa Harman—parents of a Dartmouth '23, Kala, and '28, Pine—played a key role in planning our time on the Big Island and generously facilitated visits to Pūnana Leo o Hilo and Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu, two K–12 schools at the forefront of Hawaiian language immersion education.
Students and teachers welcomed the group with an opening assembly filled with song, affirmation, and ceremony. Class leaders addressed visitors entirely in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, and students presented freshly woven leis. Reflecting on the experience, Nica shared, "Before we were taught anything, before we asked questions or took notes, we were honored. The ceremony was emotional…because of its self-pride. This was a language that had nearly disappeared, now spoken fluently and confidently by children who understand that it is theirs to carry forward."
Time on campus showcased a range of pedagogical approaches, including cross-grade learning, farming and land stewardship, and participation in traditional song and dance. As Roen observed, "It was a good reminder that preserving language cannot simply focus on the language alone; keeping culture alive is an integral part of maintaining a language."
After touring the grounds, students spoke with Kauanoe Kamanā, cofounder and president of Pūnana Leo and a central figure in Hawaiian language revitalization since the 1970s. She spoke candidly about the challenges of sustaining immersion education. As Nica recalled, "She reminded us that when Hawaiian immersion schools began in the 1980s, they were widely considered impossible. "Her advice was clear: you do not wait for permission. You build the system, establish standards, and force recognition through persistence."
Later that afternoon, the group visited the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo College of Hawaiian Language, where Kekoa Harman serves as an Associate Professor of Hawaiian Studies and Hawaiian Language. Discussions explored approaches to teaching ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi to adult learners and examined how artificial intelligence is reshaping language acquisition and revitalization efforts.
While outside, the students visited the campus kalo garden, planted directly in soil rather than a traditional loʻi system. Professor Harman explained how rainwater naturally flows from the mountains above to sustain the garden, prompting further discussion of the ahupuaʻa system. This moment helped crystallize connections between Hawaiian language revitalization and environmental science. Students continued to discuss scholarship conducted in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and the importance of language not only as an academic subject, but as a carrier of Hawaiian values, knowledge systems, and cultural traditions. As Dylan noted, "One of the most impactful experiences was seeing how language revitalization functions not just as a cultural project, but also as a social and environmental intervention. So, when using a more holistic approach to research, not only are the sources more diverse, but the outcomes and impacts of the research are far more impactful and widespread. In the past, language was used as a method to carry the indigenous ecological knowledge, values, and history of the people, showing that revitalization efforts are not purely symbolic, but revive a whole new and impactful worldview."
Later, the group met with Professor Leanne Day from the University of Hilo's English department. Her work on settler colonialism, identity, and Indigenous literature expanded conversations about what it means to be "local" in Hawaiʻi. Professor Day emphasized the role of narrative as a legitimate and powerful mode of academic inquiry, challenging dominant Western frameworks of knowledge production.
That evening, the group returned to the College of Hawaiian Language for an end-of-semester celebration. The hosts shared local Hawaiian foods such as laulau while watching Pele, Professor Harman, and his students perform hula and sing in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. The gathering served as a living embodiment of the day's themes, demonstrating the inseparability of language, culture, and community. Reflecting on these experiences, Patrick noted, "I've come to realize the importance of interdisciplinary study and thinking when we approach problems. I think we tend to separate science and humanities because their methodologies are so different. Yet, there are times when studying the intersection enables one to have a more nuanced understanding of both."
Volcanology and Geology
Anticipation was high ahead of a planned visit to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, particularly given hopes of witnessing lava flow at Kīlauea. Shortly before the group arrived, a powerful eruption destroyed the park's livestream observation camera. The Scholars team planned an evening visit in hopes of seeing the lava's glow, but dense fog obscured visibility. Despite this, the students spent a memorable evening exploring the park and stargazing.
For many, this was a rare opportunity to observe the Southern Hemisphere night sky and learn unfamiliar constellations and stories. The park's minimal light pollution enabled exceptional visibility, reinforced by the Big Island's low-glare street lamps, protecting both astronomical research at Mauna Kea Observatory and the natural night environment. Students explored these themes further at the ʻImiloa Astronomy Center. There, they learned about Hawaiian wayfinding and astronomy alongside contemporary debates surrounding observatories on Mauna Kea.
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Smoke rising from Kīlauea at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. The foreground features solidified lava from the 1959 eruption.
On the final day, students returned to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park to hike the Kīlauea Iki Trail, which descends from rainforest along the crater rim to the solidified floor of a former lava lake. The landscape was shaped by a 36-day eruption that began on November 14, 1959, offering a tangible lesson in geological time, transformation, and scale.
