Mika loves experiencing new places through the lens of wildlife and habitat as well as local culture and language. She grew up visiting Kauai frequently as a child, as her grandparents grew up here, so it feels like a second home. After graduating with a degree in Integrative Biology and a minor in Linguistics from UC Berkeley, she lived for 3 years in Japan teaching English, then was able to pivot back to wildlife work with a position monitoring wind farms in Iowa. Mika is very excited and grateful to have the chance to live and work on Kauai and see a new side of the island she has always loved, while also being able to visit her grandma more often. She worked on IMMP for the 2025 season and is looking forward to new challenges and adventures with Colony this year!