Viola Gaskell
Social Studies Teacher

Viola developed her passion for the earth early on, growing up in rural Hāna, Maui, where living off the land is still widely practiced. In high school, she spent two summers in the Kupu program, doing restoration work on Maui and Kahoʻolawe and propagating and documenting native plants. After earning her degree in multimedia journalism, she moved to Hong Kong, where she reported on social, environmental, and political topics, namely the landmark Hong Kong protest movement. In 2021, she returned to Hawaiʻi, where she worked with publications including Civil Beat, Maui Times, Hana Hou!, and Flux Hawaiʻi. While reporting on education at Civil Beat, Viola learned about SEEQS, and soon began her transition from journalism to teaching. She is inspired by examining cultural nuance, our interaction with the natural world, food systems, sustainability, and solutions to the plethora of problems we face, and those who remain undaunted.

“I work at SEEQS because I’ve been examining essential questions of sustainability and sociology throughout my life, and I am really excited to do so with kids and to see their ingenuity in action.”