Rosaura (Rosie) Chapina, a Ph.D. student in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources and a Gund Institute for Environment Graduate Fellow, has been nominated as a Lake Champlain Sea Grant 2024 Knauss Fellow. Chapina conducts impactful research with the Rubenstein School Ecosystem Science Laboratory and is an active member of the School community, serving on its Board of Advisors.
Sea Grant Knauss Fellowships are one-year, paid fellowships for graduate students interested in ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and policies. The 2024 Knauss Fellowship finalists will become the 45th class of one of the most prestigious marine policy fellowships in the United States. Since 1979, Sea Grant has provided one-year Knauss fellowships to more than 1,500 early career professionals to work with federal agencies in D.C.
“Rosie is an exceptional scientist and emerging leader who is passionate about bridging science, people, and policy,” said Lake Champlain Sea Grant director, Anne Jefferson. “I am thrilled that Rosie has been selected for the prestigious Knauss Fellowship, which is often an important springboard for high-impact careers in marine and aquatic science and policy.”
Chapina conducts research on the ecology of Mysis, a small shrimp-like crustacean. She evaluates Mysis behavior and migration patterns in Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes. Chapina is originally from San Jose, California, and earned a B.S. in Forensic Science from the University of Texas at El Paso prior to coming to the University of Vermont. Chapina’s relationship with the Sea Grant Network goes back to 2016 when she interned at Maryland Sea Grant, conducting research at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons Island.
Chapina’s one-year fellowship based in Washington D.C. will begin in February 2024. Fellows can match with Executive or Legislative offices in the Capital. Executive appointments for Knauss fellows can include placements throughout NOAA as well as with the Department of Energy, Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Science Foundation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other agencies. Legislative placements can include the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (Majority), the House Committee on Natural Resources (Majority), the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Majority and Minority), and several placements in both majority and minority personal offices (House and Senate).
“I constantly put myself in situations that make me uncomfortable because that is the only way you learn – the Knauss fellowship will allow me to grow in different ways,” Chapina said. “During placement week I interviewed with 20 different offices, it was a learning experience in its own.”
Last month, Chapina and other 2024 finalists participated in a virtual placement week to get to know each other and interview potential host offices. She was matched with the NOAA Ocean Exploration and Expedition office, which is dedicated to exploring the deep ocean. There, she will work with a team of ecologists, geologists, archaeologists, educators, and more.
“I am very excited to be part of the ocean exploration team, I will lead briefings on a variety of science and exploration topics which will definitely push me out of my comfort zone,” said Chapina. “Understanding how policy is implemented and actively engaging with diverse audiences including policymakers, is vital if you want to zoom out from the realm of science and seek to understand a different perspective of the role science has in our society.”
Graduate students from all disciplines who are interested in ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and national policy decisions are eligible to apply for a Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship.
This story was adapted from a story originally posted to the Lake Champlain Sea Grant website, written by Anna Marchessault.
