Almost two months have flown by since the completion of my 2025 Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, and I’ve finally had the space to reflect on a year that reshaped both my personal and professional path.
At the start of 2025, I was living at home on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, wrapping up my master's degree in integrated marketing communications from The University of Mississippi. By the end of the year, I had navigated the complexities of international policy, traveled the globe and contributed to critical conversations at the intersection of science, diplomacy and security. It still feels a little surreal.
What Is the Knauss Fellowship?
Named after Sea Grant founder and former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator John A. Knauss, the fellowship matches highly qualified graduate students with host offices in the legislative and executive branches of government in Washington, D.C. for a one-year paid placement. The program has been running since 1979 and has produced a network of over 1,600 professionals who now lead work across government, academia and the private sector.
The fellowship is designed to build the next generation of leaders who can bridge science and policy. Host offices consistently cite the fresh perspectives fellows bring, especially when addressing complex challenges. Fellows, in turn, gain hands-on policy experience they couldn't find anywhere else.
Where it began (for me, at least!)
My interest in this work didn’t begin in a library or a classroom, but rather through the lived experience of growing up on the Gulf Coast. I witnessed firsthand the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the long-term environmental toll of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. These events taught me early on that the environment is never separate from the people who inhabit it; our lives, livelihoods and futures are deeply intertwined with the health of our planet. This realization fueled my desire to ensure my life’s work improves conditions for both people and the environment.
Finding Knauss
I first learned about the fellowship in 2022 while interning at the National Sea Grant Law Center. That summer, I was paired with a Knauss Fellow who became my mentor and introduced me to the program firsthand. Even then, I recognized that the Knauss Fellowship had the potential to open doors to new and unexpected opportunities. I knew I would be applying in grad school.
A year in the sky
Fast forward a few years, the 2025 Knauss cohort made history. For the first time in program history, all eligible Sea Grant programs were represented, producing a diverse class of 88 fellows. I was selected as one of them and, to my knowledge, one of only two nonscientists in the group.
After an intensive placement process, I matched with my top choice: the International and Interagency Affairs Division (IIAD) at NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), where I served as an International Relations Specialist. IIAD’s work is sweeping in scope, encompassing everything from developing strategic partnerships that enable NESDIS to meet its mission goals, to supporting open data sharing policies on the global stage, to advancing U.S. interests abroad.
Over the course of the year, I attended and contributed to more than 10 international events, from space summits in Washington to gatherings in Sydney, Vienna and Paris. I worked on the NESDIS Western Hemisphere Strategy, produced country-level policy analyses, supported international engagements including AmeriGEO Week, and helped develop internal tools to better connect global partners with NOAA's data and capabilities. I was even able to become a mentor and give back to the same internship that showed me what the Knauss Fellowship was.
What the year taught me
While many of my fellow Knauss fellows focused on oceans and coastlines, my work centered on the systems orbiting above them. However, the longer I spent in the role, the more clearly I saw that the sky and the sea are not as separate as they might seem. The satellite data collected in orbit directly shapes how we respond to disasters, manage fisheries, predict severe weather and support vulnerable coastal communities. Indeed, everything is connected.
This idea of connection goes beyond the science itself and into the way work gets done. Progress often depends on many people, agencies and countries contributing different pieces over time. Even small efforts can add up, and relationships matter just as much as technical work. Communication, trust and coordination all help move ideas forward and make it possible for information to flow between systems and people in a meaningful way.
Gratitude
None of this would have been possible without the institutions and people who believed in me early.
To the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium — thank you for nominating me and building the foundation that made everything else possible. To the International and Interagency Affairs Division at NOAA NESDIS — thank you for trusting me with meaningful work and for welcoming me as a contributor from day one. To the National Sea Grant Law Center — you introduced me to this path, and the trajectory of my career changed because of it. And to the National Sea Grant Office and NOAA broadly — thank you for the network and support that made it possible to take full advantage of every opportunity the fellowship offered.
What Comes Next
The Knauss Fellowship reminded me that I don't have to choose between my interests of environmental policy, international affairs, communications and emerging technology. Oftentimes, the most meaningful work happens precisely at those intersections. I’ll be keeping my eyes open for roles that match these interests.
It also reminded me that being from Mississippi and growing up in a coastal community that has navigated real environmental and economic hardship shapes not only who I am, but how I approach my work. I will continue to carry that perspective with me as I move between local and global spaces, constantly connecting the experiences of my community to broader international conversations, and bringing global insights back home.
No matter how far those experiences take me, I remain grounded in where I come from, and I let that sense of identity guide how I think, collaborate and contribute.