By: Cheyenne Stienbarger. Before we begin, there is something you must know about me. I like organization and need to have a plan, whether it’s a plan for the trip to the grocery store, for the year, or for the next five years. I live to plan. Spoiler alert: you just can’t plan for some things. I discovered the Knauss...

By: Alexandra Skrivanek. Stuart Levenbach began his career in marine policy exploring how anemones, macroalgae, sea urchins and fish interact on rocky reefs off southern California. Less than two decades later, he was appointed as the Chief of Staff of NOAA. Dr. Levenbach always knew he would play a role in advancing natural resource policy in...

By: Kat Montgomery. Did you know that most of the salmon you see in grocery stores and restaurants comes from a fish farm? In fact, aquaculture, which is the farming of fish, shellfish and seaweed in fresh or saltwater, produces about half of the world’s seafood supply. I became interested in aquaculture sort of by accident, and that newfound...

By: Christine Bassett. Given my experience thinking about past climate and oceans, it might seem peculiar for me, a geoscientist, to spend my Knauss Fellowship year in the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Office of Observations. Read about how my work at the NWS gives me the opportunity to bring my focus on past human-climate interactions...

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. In this article, former Knauss fellow Lisa Kim explores her Korean identity and how it has influenced her early career journey with coastal science policy.

By: Josie Lindsey-Robbins. Coming from a small town in rural Missouri, Emily never imagined she would end up living and working near Washington, D.C. Today, Emily serves as the Director of Formulation and Congressional Analysis (FCA) for NOAA Research. She began her journey in NOAA as a 2005 Knauss Fellow, placed within the National Ocean Service...

By: Kirsten Rhude. Even though my work as a Knauss Fellow makes me feel connected to coastal communities, lately I’ve been missing my time spent in nature. While I may not have realized it initially, my sense of stewardship and love of the natural world, which made me so passionate about becoming a Knauss fellow, have deep connections to...

By: Amanda Dwyer. One of the Knauss Fellowship’s most exciting opportunities is to explore areas of marine science that are outside your academic field of expertise. With my placement at the NOAA Marine Debris Program, I am working to support NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS) Zero Waste Initiative to promote zero waste efforts in...

By: Emily Y. Horton. Social connection. It’s part of what makes us human and it’s fundamental to our wellbeing. So how does the 2020 cohort of Knauss Fellows network when required to “physically distance” at home? In this blog post, I share about virtual alumni-engagement initiatives our cohort is leading and discuss how in...

By: Jennifer Le. Most recipes on the internet begin with a quirky story related to the author, recipe or dish. In a similar vein, this “recipe” is a step-by-step story about how baking has helped me, personally, work through my anxiety both during graduate school and the current pandemic.

By: Connor Fagan. In August of 2005, the winds and waves of Hurricane Katrina smashed through the city of New Orleans. A middle-schooler at the time, my life, along with millions of others, as a New Orleanian would never be the same. Since then, I have directed my studies and career towards environmental policy as a result of Hurricane Katrina and...

By: Zuzanna Abdala. As of April 1st, 2020, the entire DC metro area is under stay-at-home orders. Although we may not be able to navigate this fellowship year in the same manner as our alumni counterparts, this situation has created opportunities for thoughtful and swift problem-solving, strong communication and creative thinking.

Over a year ago, I packed my belongings and moved from Long Beach, California, to Washington, D.C. to get firsthand experience working in the federal government as a Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellow. Embarking upon my year, I knew one thing for sure: it was bound to be full of surprises. I’ve learned a number of important lessons...

August 29th, 2005 is a day that I will never forget. My mother and I had evacuated our New Orleans home several days earlier, and we sat glued to the television, transfixed by the images of Hurricane Katrina inundating our city. In the months that followed, we scoured Google Maps, simply to see if our house still stood. When we finally returned...

By Bianca Prohaska. Going into my fellowship position, I knew I would travel a lot, lead our collaborations with India, and  provide support for our work with China. What I didn’t realize is how quickly I would get to start my work and get traveling! Read about my experiences in India, Ireland, Hawai'i, France, Malaysia, and...

By: Alison Agather. In 1912, over 1,500 people lost their lives when the RMS Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank. But what does the Titanic have to do with my fellowship role in the National Weather Service’s Ocean Prediction Center?

By Madi Harris Speed-walking down 5th Avenue in my suit while fighting early Manhattan summer humidity was not the morning I had planned for myself. Expecting the early Amtrak train from D.C. to New York to be on schedule may have been my own naivety, but I now found myself tempting a late arrival for my very first meeting at the United Nations...

By Lisa Kim I never expected my Knauss Fellowship to land me in South Korea. Yet, there I was, full of anxious excitement on a bumpy car ride in the narrow streets of the country I was born in. I looked in the rear view mirror to make sure my hair was neat and my button down shirt was straight. I got out of the car, and saw an old woman, tears in...

My position as the Knauss Policy Fellow working on the GEO Blue Planet Initiative has required organization, flexibility, creativity, teamwork, and comfort with (lots) of learning on the job. The thing above all that has helped me to navigate these challenges is my role as a Dungeon Master (abbreviated as DM) in Dungeons and Dragons. I thought it...

By Roxanne J Carini
In graduate school, I would quip that I studied everything about the ocean, except what lived there! So, imagine my surprise when I wound up at the Marine Mammal Commission for my year-long Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship.  Falling in love with the world of marine mammals didn’t take long! But, not for the...