Article Provided By ORTA Team
Ernest F. Hollings Students interacting with the staff from all 6 NOAA Line Offices. (Credit: NOAA)
The NOAA Office of Education invited the NOAA Office of Research, Transition, and Application (ORTA) to participate in their Career Fair held on May 29, 2024 at the NOAA Science Center. This fair was part of an annual student orientation program that welcomes newly-awarded scholarship recipients of the 2024 Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship and the Jose Serrano Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI) Undergraduate Scholarship Program. All scholarship recipients are selected through a national competitive process and are college undergraduates in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields at the time of the orientation.
At the career fair, representatives from NOAA’s line/staff offices discussed with the students internship opportunities, career paths, and organizational structure. Many line/staff offices were able to engage in informal conversations with the scholarship recipients, talking one-on-one about the students’ interests, office-specific programs, and internship/career opportunities. These competitive scholarship programs provide undergraduate students with tuition assistance and a 10 or 11-week paid internship at a NOAA facility. These students are set to begin their internships in the Summer of 2025, and this career fair gave them an opportunity to speak with representatives across all NOAA Line Offices.
The Line Offices that participated were:
- Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)
- National Weather Service (NWS)
- National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS)
- NOAA Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
- NOAA Marine & Aviation Operations (OMAO)
- National Ocean Service (NOS)
All NOAA line offices provided informational handouts and materials. OAR’s table was represented by Kaity Goldsmith of the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program (OAP), Frank Neipold of the NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO), and Andrew Peck and Kenneth Vierra of ORTA.
Hollings Students visit with Ember (Therapy Dog) while Kaity Goldsmith (OAP) and Frank Neipold (CPO) talking to students at the OAR table (Left). Andrew Peck (ORTA) talking with a student (Center). View of the very crowded OAR table area (Right) (Photo Credit: NOAA)
The students had broad interests across NOAA’s mission space, including topics related to specific OAR activities. Some of the topics the students asked about were climate modeling, paleoclimatology, applications of social science, ecology, geographic information systems (GIS), and transition of NOAA technologies. Some students asked about ways in which OAR connects research to human communities, and many were interested in specific NOAA staff roles. The students were bright, energetic, and eager to hear from NOAA staff.
Ember ready when and if called upon to work as a NOAA Ambassador (Left). Ken Vierra (ORTA) and Katy Goldsmith (OAP) discussing career opportunities with the students while Ember is being petted (Right) (Photo Credit: NOAA)
ORTA’s Ken Vierra brought along Ember, his K-9 Caring Angels Therapy Dog, to the OAR display and information area. Ember, a Keeshond, was as always a tremendous draw for the students. Ember is a member of ORTA’s outreach team and affectionately known as a “Living Teddy Bear.” Her predecessor and cousin Nikita, also a Keeshond, was NOAA’s first Canine Ambassador, and Ember is now blazing her own path as a NOAA Ambassador.
The event, hosted by NOAA Office of Education, was a great opportunity for the scholars to interact with a broad group of NOAA staff from across the line offices. They were able to start building networks within the agency and learn about potential career paths.