Felicia Geronimo Shares Positive Experiences with the Next Generation
Felicia Geronimo always enjoyed tending her garden when she was a little girl, but it took her a while to return to what she loves best and find her inner horticulturalist.
She initially embarked on a career as a dental assistant, but being around uneasy patients who didn’t want to be in a dentist chair, started to make her uneasy.
Felicia decided to return to school and find another career. Not knowing which direction her life would take, she enrolled in a horticulture class taught by Priscilla Miller at Leeward Community College. And the rest is history.
“This is something I can do for a living,” Felicia recalls thinking back to the day of her epiphany in the horticulture class. “And it just stuck.”
Filled with infectious, bubbly enthusiasm, Felicia then took other agriculture classes and sought jobs on campus related to the field. She ended up taking all of the required courses for an Associate of Art degree in Liberal Arts with a certificate in Plant Biology and Tropical Agriculture, and she had the honor of being the first one to graduate in the program in 2012.
She said Dr. Kabi Neupane, head of Leeward Community College’s Plant Biology and Tropical Agriculture program, calls Felicia his “poster child” for the program, and she affectionately refers to him as her “teacher-dad.”
Today, Felicia is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Tropical Plants and Social Sciences the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, specializing in plant production and management. She also holds a part-time job in the College’s academic affairs group, where she is involved in outreach activities to younger students and peers.
One of the classes Felicia is currently taking is called “Enterprise Management,” which teaches students who to create their own business. “Micro-propagation,” which is involves taking a stem, root or any other part of a plant tissue and creating hundreds of tiny plants, is something that piques her interest.
“It’s a way to take plant tissue and grow disease-free plants, grow endangered Native Hawaiian plants that are endangered and re-populate areas in nature,” Felicia said. “Others have grown succulents and orchids as miniature plants; I want to grow mini-pineapples that visitors to our Islands can take back home with them.”
Felicia said one of the reasons she was attracted to agriculture was “lifelong skills” students can learn. “Being able to grow your food is important in Hawaii since we import 85% to 90% of our food,” she said. “If shipments were to suddenly stop, we would only have enough food to last a week,”
The courses have also broadened her thinking about agriculture. “Gone are the days of farmers wearing overalls with a sprig of straw between his teeth” she said. “I’m blown away by the science behind agriculture today. There is a greater emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) for agriculture.”
“Agriculture is not just something that you do outside; there is also work in labs. There are organic crops, but we should not dismiss conventional methods that could save our lives,” Felicia said.
She said that when speaking to children, she likes to share the analogy of an apple being the Earth and shows that arable land is only on a tiny part of the apple peel. Based on that reality and the world’s growing population, it is imperative to turn to scientific growing methods that use less water, provide higher yields, higher nutrition, and that may not require soil such as hydroponics, she said.
One of the aspects of horticulture that Felicia finds most rewarding is educational outreach with children of all ages.
She said that she admires organizations such as the Malama Learning Center and Kokua Farms for their commitment to providing education and experiences in agriculture to Hawaii’s youth.
Felicia is particularly impressed with Jackie Akuna, a Leilehua High School advisor who invests so such much in the lives of her students, and holds her as a role model. That same nurturing that Felicia has observed and received is now being shared with younger students.
She recently participated in an Agricultural Awareness Day and had the opportunity to speak with 600 fourth graders.
I just get a kick to see kids learn...when I ask a question and they raise their hands, shouting, “I know, I know!” One day, Felicia could be teaching your child or grandchild, too!
Words of Advice for High School Students:
"Get to know your teachers and advisors. They can help you find a job or provide letters of recommendation. They are not just there to teach you or give you a grade. They want you to succeed. They have faith in you to excel. Your success is their success! It makes sense to start at Leeward Community College because it’s a smaller campus and teachers really know each other, and can take the time to know you." - Felicia Geronimo
