Local Hawaii high school graduate Mari Quinn has been training at HIMB since she was in the 9^th grade.  In 2016 she joined the Center for Community Education’s after school science club led by PhD student Mike Henley, and a year later enrolled in HIMB Research Experiences in Marine Science immersive programs from 2017-2020.  These early experiences set the stage for Mari to explore expanding her research training, later joining the Hagedorn Lab to conduct coral research under Mike’s close guidance.  Now, as a graduating senior and Valedictorian from Castle High School, Mari’s work on coral larvae restoration was ranked as one of the top two projects at the Regional Science Fair in Hawaii. This won her an automatic spot to the National Science Fair in Anaheim, CA. Due to the pandemic, unfortunately the national competition was cancelled; however at the state level competition, she won the top NOAA award – the highest specialty award that NOAA officials grant. Additionally, Mari was awarded a full 4-year scholarship to the University of Hawaii, including living and travel stipends to work abroad.