When UW-Milwaukee student Chelsea Berg (formerly Chelsea Lowes) was accepted for a prestigious Knauss Fellowship in 2009, little did she know that one day she would direct the program. For her fellowship, Berg was matched with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ecosystem Research Program, a now-defunct, cross-cutting effort to coordinate research activities within several NOAA offices, including the National Sea Grant Program.
The appointment offered a new perspective for the biological sciences master’s degree student. “I was put in charge of coordinating with all these higher-ups in NOAA,” Berg said. “When I asked them for information, they had to answer me. That was a very interesting position to be in so early in my career.”
The knowledge Berg gained through the position and the contacts she made served her well once her year-long fellowship ended. National Sea Grant Director Leon Cammen, who was serving as chair of the Ecosystem Research Program at the time, alerted Berg to a job opportunity to coordinate education services for Sea Grant. Berg successfully competed for the position and then six months later took over for the Knauss Fellowship manager who departed for a job in Florida. That was two years ago.
Lowes is going great guns with the program. A record number of fellows are expected to report soon to Washington, D.C. “Usually, we accept between 40 and 50 fellows,” Berg said. “But for 2013, we have 50 who are coming to be matched for positions with either the executive or legislative branch.”
The number of applicants is also up, with 111 passing from state Sea Grant programs to the national level. Berg attributes the program’s popularity to the good job that local Sea Grant programs are doing to get the word out, and to the growing number of fellowship alumni. “Students start hearing about the program from our alumni and that gets them interested. Word-of-mouth plays a big role,” Berg said.
The 2013 fellow from Wisconsin Sea Grant is Jennifer Phillips, a master’s degree student in environment and resources from UW-Madison.
If you are a student who will be enrolled in a graduate program in 2013, Wisconsin Sea Grant is accepting applications for the 2014 Knauss Fellowship Program. Established in 1979, the Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, named after a former NOAA administrator, provides a unique educational experience to students with an interest in Great Lakes, ocean and coastal resources and in national policy decisions affecting those resources.
Applications are due to the Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute on February 15. For more information, visit https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/Home/ProjectsandFunding/Funding/Details.aspx?PostID=1332.
