NOAA CCME-II Course Prepares Next Generation of Coastal Scientists in Corpus Christi

Autumn Dancy was one of 30 students from across the country who traveled to Corpus Christi for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems (CCME-II) Center-Wide Core Competency Course (CWCC).
Dancy, a master’s student in Environmental Science at Florida A&M University, said the weeklong symposium offered her a chance to uncover more than what’s on the surface.

“I was able to learn a lot of the methods and applications that NOAA uses themselves,” Dancy said. “That’s very helpful because in school you kind of learn the tip of the iceberg, and I feel the NOAA CCME-II CWCC experience was a good way to learn the bottom part of the iceberg too — and how NOAA scientists themselves apply the knowledge.”

Dancy was not alone in coming away from the event — hosted by the Harte Research Institute (HRI) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) — more informed and better prepared to apply scientific knowledge in real-world settings.

The weeklong program offered students a deep dive into coastal and marine science through academic and field-based learning. Students attended multiple presentations featuring HRI and TAMU-CC scientists and researchers and participated in hands-on instruction, including an underwater drone demonstration and a cruise on the R/V Katy at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute.

Dancy said her favorite part of the week was the Problem-Based Learning Activity, which focused on water issues around Corpus Christi and gave her an opportunity to learn about “an environmental problem occurring in a region that I’ve never been to or looked into before.”

The event culminated in a town hall at the Texas State Aquarium, where student groups delivered presentations representing stakeholders on the topic of desalination in Corpus Christi.

“Through hands-on experience and real-world challenges, these students walked away not only more informed, but more empowered to make a difference,” said Dr. Paul Montagna, HRI’s Endowed Chair for HydroEcology and HRI’s institutional lead for the CCME-II program. “We hope this experience not only broadens their knowledge but helps them see how their work can have a direct impact on coastal communities and environmental policy.”

CCME-II is one of four NOAA-funded Cooperative Science Centers. Its mission is to recruit, educate, train, and graduate U.S. citizens as a new generation of scientists in NOAA mission-aligned STEM — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — disciplines.

TAMU-CC is part of a consortium of six universities that participate in the program. The consortium is led by Florida A&M University and includes Bethune-Cookman University, Jackson State University, California State University Monterey Bay, and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

“This is my second semester being a NOAA CCME scholar, so this was a really, really cool opportunity to see the growth from other students,” Dancy said, adding that her favorite fun-time activity was visiting the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History. “Seeing the position that other students are in, how knowledgeable they are, and how prepared they are to take on the NOAA fields really inspired me and showed me how much I can grow. It was really inspiring.”