New York Sea Grant (NYSG) is looking for undergraduates to take part in the Community Engaged Fellowship (CEI), a nationwide program that provides unique opportunities to work with scientists, community groups and government agencies. 

March 10 is the application deadline to follow in the steps of previous fellows including SUNY Oswego’s Aileigh Ray, a senior with a criminal justice major and political science minor with dreams of attending law school.

This summer, Megan Cochran, NYSG’s Great Lakes outreach coordinator, will mentor a student in Buffalo offering hands-on experience in science communication, storytelling, content creation, and partner engagement.

The student will collaborate virtually and in-person with past and current Great Lakes Basin Small Grants recipients to develop a handful of case studies highlighting community-based solutions to issues such as shoreline resilience, habitat restoration, watershed stewardship, and youth engagement. 

The fellow will conduct short interviews, review project materials, and transform project information into engaging stories and digital content such as graphics and short videos for NYSG’s outreach platforms. 

This is one of three CEI opportunities being offered by NYSG statewide. The other two fellowships will be based in the Bronx (wetlands field data collection) and Stony Brook (East End Waterways Ambassador).

Applications for this summer’s 10-week fellowships, which will begin June 1 and include a $6,000 stipend, are being accepted through Tuesday, March 10, at www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/ceifellowships. 

Local experience

Since 2021, NYSG has provided numerous students with opportunities to gain field experience, attend professional development workshops, and engage in outreach that enriches the communities in which they work. Last summer, Stacy Furgal, NYSG’s Great Lakes Fisheries and Ecosystem Specialist based at SUNY Oswego, mentored two students, including Ray.

As a 2025 CEI fellow, Ray worked with community partners at Oswego's H. Lee White Maritime Museum to develop a comprehensive exhibit on recreation and tourism along the shores of Lake Ontario.

As a Lake Ontario Recreation and Tourism Exhibit fellow, Ray conducted a lot of personal research and collaborated heavily with the museum, an experience that she says helped broaden both her knowledge of local history and her appreciation for Lake Ontario. The exhibit showcases different kinds of recreation that can be done in and around the lake, including some of Ray’s personal interests: “Beachcombing, rock finds, and shoreline birdwatching.”

“Getting to create an exhibit that was hung up and displayed in the museum is incredible to me, because in college, a lot of the work you do is theoretical," Ray said. "This is something tangible and real that I can bring my parents to.”

Beyond her work at the museum, Ray helped with daily duties at the museum as a front desk worker, assisting with local events like Paddlefest and Harborfest, and working as a guide at the West Pierhead Lighthouse.

Working at the lighthouse was a "very cool experience," Ray said. "I've grown up my entire life looking out from the shore at the lighthouse. I got to work with a lot of tourists and locals. Locals appreciate it immensely, and tourists do as well. You'd be surprised how many people go from lighthouse to lighthouse to lighthouse, visiting them."

Looking beyond this season, Ray already had her next opportunity lined up: an internship with the city clerk's office in the archives. She credits the connections she made as a CEI fellow with making it happen.

The experience "was just immensely unique," Ray said. "I feel like I couldn’t have found a cooler internship this summer, so I’m very grateful.”

For more on last summer's CEI fellows, read NYSG's recent story.

About New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant, with a field offices at SUNY Oswego among other locations, is a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, and is one of 34 university-based programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program.

—  Submitted by New York Sea Grant