Young Changemakers Fellowship Program – US

NOAA’s Young Changemakers Fellowship (YCF) is a year-long opportunity for high school students across the United States, U.S. territories, and tribal nations to make a difference for the ocean and environment. It 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 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.

What you will get?

• Applications are now open for their next cohort of changemakers! Each of the 15 high school students selected for this opportunity will:
  • Travel to D.C. for a fellowship kick-off summit involving hands-on workshops, discussions with government officials, and opportunities to get to know the other members of the cohort (all expenses will be covered for both the changemaker and one accompanying parent/legal guardian).
  • Join virtual monthly meetings to build changemaking skills and share project progress and challenges.
  • Match with a NOAA mentor who will assist one-on-one with project planning and offer advice on post-high school career paths.
  • Be eligible for up to $750 in funding for project implementation.
  • Receive a $800 stipend for full fellowship completion.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible for the Young Changemakers Fellowship, you must:
  • 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, please 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 their 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.
• Applicants do not necessarily need to:
  • Be an expert in ocean and environmental science.
  • Have deep knowledge of NOAA and/or the federal government.
  • Have years of prior experience as an ocean or environmental changemaker.

For more information, visit NOAA.