“Is my camera on?” NOAA scholars overcome challenges in a “virtual” reality

For the first time ever, NOAA Office of Education’s undergraduate scholarship programs hosted virtual internships due to ongoing COVID-19 prevention efforts. While nothing can replace a summer spent tracking salmon in Alaska, monitoring coral reefs in Hawaiʻi, or working alongside meteorologists at a weather forecast office, scholars stepped up to the challenge and came away with a whirlwind of experiences that provided new knowledge, skills, and even moments of self-discovery. As one scholar, Adriana Muñoz, put it, “It has been an exciting roller coaster endured from the comfort of a small corner of my room.”