Bio: Catherine Fuller

Catherine Fuller is a 1984 graduate of `Iolani School in Honolulu. She went on to major in English at Occidental College, and returned home to pursue a personal educational mission to learn as much about her Hawaiian heritage as possible. She currently working on her Master's Thesis in Anthropology at the University of Hawaii, for which she was previously awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship.

As a part of her personal goal, Catherine became actively involved woth the Polynesian voyaging canoes Hokule`a and Hawai`iloa in 1993. She began her experience as a part of the building crew of Hawai`iloa, and went on to participate in Hawai`iloa's sea trials. Her first long voyage was from Hawai`i to Tahiti to the Marquesas in 1995. She has also been actively involved as a board member, as a dry-dock worker, and as an instructor of a new generation of sailors.

By far the most rewarding experience to her is to work with Hawai`i's school children, either by classroom presentations or through a hands-on experience on the canoe. Hopefully, the lessons learned about life in a confined environment will stay with the children, allowing them to make informed decisons about their futures. She would like to send her aloha to four men for their inspiration and guidance: Nainoa Thompson, Wally Froiseth, Wright Bowman, Jr., and Kala Kukea.