Ava Fujimoto-Strait

Instructor and Lab Coordinator 
Biogeography 

I am a broadly-trained physical geographer with interests in biogeography, climatology, and human-environment interaction.  Being from Hawaii, I grew up surrounded by a rich cultural and environmental diversity that made Geography a natural discipline to pursue.  I received my B.S. in Geography with a minor in Biology and a Certificate in Cartography from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and my M.A. degree in Geography (with an emphasis in Biogeography) from the University of Georgia. 

Since graduating from the University of Georgia, I have been an instructor at various colleges and universities.  I have taught ten different geography courses and four different internet courses during these past 20+ years.  In addition to teaching here at SHSU, I teach online courses for Lone Star College and Louisiana Delta Community College.  I absolutely love teaching and actually prefer the big lecture hall classes.  Weather & Climate is one of my favorite courses to teach, because weather is something that we experience every day and there is always an exciting weather event to monitor and discuss.  I appreciate the broadness that Geography offers and love sharing that geographic knowledge to anyone who will listen.     
 
What takes up the majority of my time, are my two kids. My husband and I are enjoying watching them grow up (though, they are doing it too quickly) and all of the fun activities that they are involved with.  I am also a runner and hit the pavement 3-5 times a week, and have recently started rock climbing.