Over the past year, the Knauss Fellowship with NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) has provided me with a unique, firsthand perspective on NOAA’s research and operational missions at headquarters, at sea, in the air and on Capitol Hill.
At sea, I visited the Marine Operations Center- Atlantic and sailed aboard the NOAA ship Pisces, working alongside NOAA scientists and NOAA Corps officers to support the bluefin tuna Slope Sea larval survey.
In the air, I toured the Aircraft Operations Center and flew with NOAA Corps officers aboard one of NOAA’s Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft or “Hurricane Hunters” to monitor a tropical storm.
On Capitol Hill, I participated in Capitol Hill Ocean Week and supported multiple leadership and committee briefings in my role as the legislative and intergovernmental fellow. As a part of my portfolio, I also joined the Arctic Action Team, which included a visit to NOAA Boulder to engage with NOAA Corps officers and a visit up north in Alaska to tour the Barrow Atmospheric Baseline Observatory. Additionally, I assisted in planning two Keel-laying ceremonies for NOAA’s newest research ships, the Surveyor and Navigator and traveled south to attend the International Work Boat Show in Louisiana for the Navigator Ceremony.
In parallel with this fellowship, I completed my master’s degree in coastal science at The University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. I had the flexibility to defend my thesis in Ocean Springs and meet with Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant. I presented my research at the Aquaculture 2025 Conference and the 2025 American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting and later shared my fellowship experience at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History for an “Expert Is In” presentation with Emilia DiBiasio. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to complete my graduate degree while remaining engaged in the fellowship, and for the support of the incredible OMAO team.
The Knauss Fellowship represents a legacy of talented individuals who sit at the intersection of policy and science. I am honored to join this alumni community and am hopeful and excited to see what the future holds for the 2026 Knauss class.
From north to south, and from above the clouds to across coastlines, this fellowship has provided invaluable perspectives, professional development opportunities and skills that I will carry forward into my next chapter.