India Oliver - Undergraduate Student

This summer, NOAA CoastWatch/OceanWatch/PolarWatch hosted undergraduate summer intern, India Oliver, as part of an undergraduate scholarship program run through NOAA’s Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions.

India is a rising junior and biology major at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and is interested in Biological Marine Science with a particular interest in how marine organisms adapt to changing environments.

India Oliver presenting her work to NOAA’s Satellite Oceanography and Climatology Division in College Park, MD. Photo credit: NOAA.

India worked with her mentor, Dr. Sheekela Baker-Yeboah, on the NOAA in situ Ocean Color Optics Database that Dr. Baker-Yeboah is developing to support satellite validation and algorithm calibration.

“This internship has been helpful because it has opened my eyes to a new perspective in ocean science, gave me more knowledge on Ocean Color research and showed me how this project contributes to my interests,” said India. “It has brought me out of my comfort zone and gave me room to grow so later on I can explore other field related to marine science. I encourage others to always go out of your comfort zone because you never know what will happen.”

India plans for the future are to complete her undergraduate degree at UMES and attend graduate school in Marine Biology. Ultimately, she would like to return to NOAA as a research scientist.