Catherine Becker
Associate Professor
Department of Communication
University of Hawaii - Hilo
beckerc@hawaii.edu
My Ph.D. is in Communication with an emphasis in Intercultural and Organizational Communication. My research focuses on cultural, organizational, and individual transformation and its relationship to communication. To learn more about my education, teaching, and research visit my UH Hilo faculty website
My interest in sustainability began when I was growing up in the industrial wasteland of Buffalo in the 1960s. I played in shadows of abandoned factories and swam in polluted waters. My craving for nature and more pristine environment led me to travel across the United States on a motorcycle at the age of nineteen and eventually, to Hawaii. My forthcoming book, Moving Between the Lines, is about that experience.
The first time I visited Hawaii, it was to attend graduate school at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I was shocked to discover the amount of development on Oahu and sought refuge by backpacking in some of the Islands’ most remote locations. I became deeply connected to the natural and spiritual world of the islands have created a tool for personal and organizational transformation that was inspired by Hawaii called, Mana Cards: The Power of Hawaiian Wisdom.
In February of 2008, I developed pneumonia in both lungs and was hospitalized. Before that, I had been a mild asthmatic. Upon returning to teach at UH Hilo, my symptoms returned. My doctor suggested that my worsening condition might be linked to mold from a sick building. I investigated and found out there was a mold problem in K, the building where my classes met and the office was located. Shortly after that, Kilauea Volcano blew open a vent and the sulfur dioxide that was emitted from it further worsened my condition.
Associate Professor
Department of Communication
University of Hawaii - Hilo
beckerc@hawaii.edu
My Ph.D. is in Communication with an emphasis in Intercultural and Organizational Communication. My research focuses on cultural, organizational, and individual transformation and its relationship to communication. To learn more about my education, teaching, and research visit my UH Hilo faculty website
My interest in sustainability began when I was growing up in the industrial wasteland of Buffalo in the 1960s. I played in shadows of abandoned factories and swam in polluted waters. My craving for nature and more pristine environment led me to travel across the United States on a motorcycle at the age of nineteen and eventually, to Hawaii. My forthcoming book, Moving Between the Lines, is about that experience.
The first time I visited Hawaii, it was to attend graduate school at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I was shocked to discover the amount of development on Oahu and sought refuge by backpacking in some of the Islands’ most remote locations. I became deeply connected to the natural and spiritual world of the islands have created a tool for personal and organizational transformation that was inspired by Hawaii called, Mana Cards: The Power of Hawaiian Wisdom.
In February of 2008, I developed pneumonia in both lungs and was hospitalized. Before that, I had been a mild asthmatic. Upon returning to teach at UH Hilo, my symptoms returned. My doctor suggested that my worsening condition might be linked to mold from a sick building. I investigated and found out there was a mold problem in K, the building where my classes met and the office was located. Shortly after that, Kilauea Volcano blew open a vent and the sulfur dioxide that was emitted from it further worsened my condition.
Consequently, I took an unpaid leave and moved to Ecovillage Ithaca in upstate New York State to heal. The road leading to Ecovillage is called Rachel Carson Way, named after the famous scientist who inspired the environmental movement.
I developed this course while living at Ecovillage Ithaca working out of my home office overlooking the pond. I hope that the unique perspective offered by connecting Ecovillage Ithaca and Hawaii will provide you with an opportunity to learn about sustainability, culture, and communication from the ground up. It is my vision that what we can learn in the course can contribute to fostering a sustainable future in Hawaii and beyond, for future generations."
Hey Dr. Becker, my name is Brendan Krueger, my major is kinesiology exercise science and my future goal is to become a strength and conditioning coach and training people how to functionally train and teaching them more about themselves and also learning more about biomechanics. My relationship with sustainability would be that I want to create a world where we don't see a lot of the same issues as we do today. What I mean by that is I think we can be more sustainable by learning more about our environment and ourselves and making it better.
ReplyDeleteI'm from Hawaii and I've been here my whole life and I absolutely love it and wouldn't change it for the world. I love everything it offers and what new things it continues to bring everyday. I'm currently in Kona and I got here by car. The thing that I want to get out of this course is the knowledge that I can take from it and use it to my everyday life. My course work for this semester is actually really simple since it's my last semester and some skills I possess is that I'm a certified personal trainer and I'm about to get my certification in strength and conditioning before this semester is over. My interests are playing sports and learning about the human anatomy through biomechanics.
One thing I could contribute that would impact the environment is going solar, growing my own vegetable garden, and living off the land in anyway I possibly can to be self sustained as possible. Dr. Becker's story is a very telling story about her journey through life and how she ended up in New York due to health reasons. My connection to that is she's a survivor and is trying to be a better person because of it by sharing her story and by sharing the outcomes that came from that. It's very interesting to hear stories like that because it's very uplifting to hear that she got a positive outcome because of it.