NMEA 2021 Student Conference Review

The NMEA Student Engagement Committee hosted a small—but mighty—group of students to the 2021 Virtual Student Conference. Students attended the main NMEA Conference plenary session featuring Philippe Cousteau and EarthEcho Global Youth Leadership Council Members speaking about “Young Leaders in Ocean Conservation.” The student members then moved to a student-only track of sessions including a career panel (including George Matsumoto of MBARI, who is mentioned in the feedback below), student presentations, and time for networking and resource sharing. Here are some excerpts from the feedback several of the students shared:

Jin-Sheng, High School Student

The NMEA Student presentation was a fantastic opportunity and experience to have for a young person to learn about potential career paths.

I learned what it is like to work with aquatic animals. I got to know where the marine organizations are in the US and what inspired some of you guys to pursue the study. As a young person, I can’t decide on a career path to take just yet. As of right now, I’m leaning towards becoming a computer programmer since I am teaching myself how to code and taking courses to learn how to. I plan, by senior year of high school, to code a program/app and market it. Still since my interests are always changing, I want to dig deeper into the marine science field since I believe that I only scratched the surface. I want to view what other scholarships and programs are out there and check them out.

Lyle, High School Student

NMEA for me was a meeting where I got to learn about nature and how people are working to help fix it. In this video/conference the speakers were talking about the difference between now and then, like the differences in the size and amount of fish we can see and catch. The speakers are trying to get us young people to help out with organizations like these to preserve the world. We cause a lot of problems for the world, especially problems that affect nature, life and the water, and NMEA is a group made from other groups that help stop and fix the problems we cause. There is a lot for me to learn from this group.

Nii, High School Student

My time in the NMEA Conferences was pretty fun, especially hearing about George Matsumoto. I don't really know what it was about him, but listening to him kinda sucked me in. The fact that he had managed to be in this field for over 30 years and still find it interesting isn't something I think I could ever do. The passion in his voice describing his work, like all the other speakers, was so genuine, you can tell that they really care about their work. Also, I really should reach out to more professionals, like he said. The more I think about all the opportunities I had, just because I couldn't talk to people, is kinda sad. So I really owe a ton to him for making me realize that.

Shabad, High School Student

I learned a lot throught the NMEA conference. I realized that there is a community of educators and students who are inspired and willing to work towards bettering the ocean. I found multiple opportunities to help the ocean. The student conference was also very inspiring because students were able to conduct research in their own community. They could use their resources to collect and analyze data, and create solutions to local issues. I also loved the career panelists segment because they were able to tell their story and share how different opportunities they took led them to where they are now.

The NMEA conference has shown me that sharing information is just as important as discovering new ideas.

I was able to hear from a variety of people who had a passion and connection to the ocean. The NMEA conference was truly inspiring and showed me that anyone can do something.

Sophia, College Student

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at the National Marine Educators Association Virtual Student Conference. As someone whose past work had focused mainly on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, it was exciting to join this national conference and hear from people across the United States who encountered different aquatic ecosystems and who focus on several specialized areas of ocean science. This gave me a broader perspective and helped me develop a sense of direction as I entered my undergraduate years. High school graduate Angela’s presentation titled “Remote Sensing and Ocean Color: Applications of Satellite Imagery in Marine Water Quality and Ecosystem Health” resonated with my scientific experiences and aspirations. As a NASA Goddard Intern working in optics, I have come across remote sensing technology and have analyzed how such systems work. It was quite illuminating to see how the technology led to applications, especially when the results were analyzed by someone at my educational level! This conference motivated me to continue to ask questions about the waterways and coastlines around me, and how I can use physics and chemistry to create sustainable solutions that benefit both environmental and human health.

It was the perfect way to survey my many options before beginning my first year of college.