By: Maggie Beetstra. As a social scientist in the Midwest, I spent hours and hours having conversations with farmers, visiting their farms, meeting their families, and trying to understand how they make conservation decisions. Now, as a Knauss fellow, I’ve traded the corn and soybean fields for community resilience and marine education, but the same approaches still hold true. Here are some of the lessons I learned in science communication while out in the fields.

By: Lauren Bonatakis. When I decided to quit my full-time, benefitted job to move to a new state for a year of service with AmeriCorps on a whim, it was a surprise to those who know me best. It was also one of the best decisions I have made. 

By: Tiffany Atkinson. I can’t emphasize enough how incredibly valuable it can be when someone takes you under their wing as a mentor. The lessons we learn from these relationships can teach us so much about ourselves and the world.

By: Maggie Chory. When thinking about my experience so far as a Knauss Fellow, I am struck by the fact that many of the skills I learned and practiced as a graduate student play into my day-to-day work now. One skill that I was surprised to discover would have so much importance this year is the ability to conduct a productive and meaningful interview.

By: Rachel Hager. I’m a Knauss marine policy fellow at NOAA because of a poster. Seven years ago, I saw one small poster pinned to a brown cork board in the hallway of a research center in Maryland. I decided to apply for the Knauss fellowship as an inland fellow from Utah because I kept thinking about that poster.