Applications are open for the NOAA Young Changemakers Fellowship (YCF) 2024-2025. NOAA’s Young Changemakers Fellowship (YCF) is a program dedicated to collaborating with and empowering the next generation of ocean and environmental leaders.
Through the program, high school students from the United States, U.S. territories, and tribal nations build skills around creating change in their home communities, culminating in a self-designed action project. In addition to taking local action, the changemakers also learn about and provide NOAA leadership with their perspective on large-scale issues such as the climate crisis, ocean issues, environmental justice challenges, and more.
Fellows take part in an in-person summit in D.C. in the summer and virtual meetings throughout the school year. These meetings include everything from project planning workshops to communication training to roundtable discussions with National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) leadership. Together, these opportunities help fellows turn their passion for ocean and environmental topics into concrete action, all while helping NOAA better understand the perspectives of young people.
Benefits
In return for full program participation, each fellow receives:
- a stipend ($800).
- funding to support their action project (up to $750).
- one-on-one mentorship with a NOAA employee.
- an all-expenses-paid kickoff summit in Washington, D.C. (July 23-27, 2024).
Eligibility
- Be a high school student during the entire 2024-2025 school year: All grades within high school are accepted. The fellowship is open to all types of high school students, whether you attend a public school, home school, charter school, private school, or other type of high school.
- Be at least 13 years old: You must be at least 13 years old at the time you apply for the fellowship. If you are not going to be 13 years old by the application deadline of June 10, 2024, wait until a future year to apply.
- Be living in and attending school in the United States, U.S. territories, or tribal nations: They are excited to select a diverse group of fellows from across the United States, tribal nations, and territories! They require all applicants to both live and attend school in one of these locations.
- Be excited about the environment, ocean, Great Lakes, and/or coasts, and their protection: They are looking for passion and commitment in our fellows. They don’t expect you to come into the fellowship already knowing everything there is to know about the environment, ocean, climate justice, or NOAA, but they want you to come ready to learn and engage!
- Be willing to commit to this year-long program and its requirements from July 2024 to June 2025: Only 15 students will be selected as fellows this year. They want to make sure each one of them is ready to commit to participating in all aspects of the program! Requirements include:
- Attending the kick-off summit with an accompanying parent / legal guardian in Washington, D.C., on July 23-27, 2024 (NOAA covers all travel expenses)
- Attending and participating in at least 9 of the 12 mandatory monthly meetings
- Responding to emails within 5 days
- Contacting your NOAA mentor at least monthly
- Planning and carrying out an action project in your community, which includes on-time submission of a written project plan and final documentation of the project
- Providing feedback to the NOAA team about your experience
Application
Submit your application by June 10, 2024, at 11:59 pm Eastern time. They will not be able to accept late applications or applications not submitted via the form.
For more information, visit the NOAA Young Changemakers Fellowship.
