Community-Engaged Fellowship spotlight: Joi Gross

Joi Gross, an environmental science undergraduate at the University of Alaska Southeast, is a part of the Alaska Sea Grant Community-Engaged Fellowship (CEF) program for a second consecutive year. Last summer, we supported her work with Alaska Environment to examine waterways in Southcentral Alaska for microplastics. This summer, Joi is coordinating marine debris outreach for our collaborative project focused on marine debris prevention.

In order to broaden representation in coastal and marine science, education, policy and decision-making, Alaska Sea Grant implements the state community-engaged fellowship program as part of a nationwide network. The 10-week paid summer fellowship, under the leadership of Alaska Sea Grant’s deputy director Brooke Carney and coastal community resilience specialist Davin Holen, provides training and mentorship through local research, outreach and public engagement projects.

In addition to being mentored by local hosts, the fellows gather for an in-person retreat in Anchorage and meet online for professional development and networking as part of a national cohort. Recently, Joi and other interns from around the country gave presentations to their cohort and mentors about their internship experiences.

Joi is from Anchorage and graduated from Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School, one of the most diverse high schools in the country. Below, she shares what she gained from her recently completed second fellowship.

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Throughout the summer, I was tasked with multiple projects as the marine debris outreach coordinator. Some of these projects included coordinating events, making outreach kits for partnering organizations, and creating social media posts to promote and inform the public about marine debris prevention and similar topics.

One of the main events I coordinated this summer was the Marine Debris Educational Outreach Event. I contacted multiple summer camps around the Anchorage area, as well as created a lesson plan that encompassed various learning styles and activities to engage the children. Activities included a small poster presentation, a relay race that simulated a remote beach cleanup in Alaska, and arts and crafts to illustrate issues around marine debris and impacted animals. My goals were to increase awareness of marine debris in Alaska as a controllable environmental issue and increase awareness of efforts to prevent marine debris in the state.

It was incredible to connect with the children and witness how smart and knowledgeable they are. I was able to host this event at four different summer camp sites in Anchorage and all of the students were absolutely amazing and fun to work with.

Apart from the educational outreach event, I also had the opportunity to participate in my first marine debris cleanup in Kodiak which was hosted by Ocean Plastic Recovery. This experience was eye opening, allowing me to see up close how marine debris impacts the environment. It felt good to make a difference, even if it was small, regarding marine debris and cleanups. I found different types of marine debris including rope and plastics. It was really cool to reaffirm the information and methods of marine debris cleanups I taught to the summer camp students while in Kodiak.

I now have had the privilege of working with Alaska Sea Grant for the second time through the CEF program and I am overwhelmed with the support Brooke Carney and others have provided me. Not only has this fellowship allowed me to learn new skills that I can apply to future career opportunities, I have been given the chance to engage and network with people who have strong confidence in my future.