Outcomes of the NOAA William M. Lapenta Internship Program

In 2017, the NOAA National Weather Service launched the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Internship Program, which hosted 14 students for 10 weeks during summer 2017 at its campus in College Park, MD. In its early years the focus was on computer science and mathematics, skills highly relevant for NWS weather modeling and prediction functions. Since then, the program has expanded to include all NOAA Line Offices (OAR, NESDIS, NOS, NMFS and OMAO), while maintaining the focus more on operational skills than on primary research. The 10 week program emphasizes operational experience, programming, weather, climate and ocean modeling, Earth system science, as well as social science, policy, communications and decision support, skills in high demand at NOAA. In addition to their project, interns also participate in professional development activities, attend seminars on NOAA’s various labs, offices and programs, and network with NOAA scientists and staff. One of the biggest benefits of the program is the Certificate of Direct Hire, enabling Lapenta interns to be hired on the spot for certain positions by managers without going through a competitive process (established by 2020 Conservation Service Corps Act). In this presentation, we present the approach and results of a highly effective NOAA internship model which has been successful at training the future NOAA-mission workforce.

Through 2024, the program has produced 30 alumni, approximately one third of whom are graduate students. Approximately 187 have completed their initial degree. Ninety eigh (98) have pursued an additional advanced degree, all but one of which is in a NOAA mission field. The Lapenta internship has a strong record of preparing students for the NOAA workforce. Of the 103 alumni currently in the workforce, 32% are working/have worked at NOAA as feds, contractors, Pathways interns or CI employees. Ten alumni have since left the agency for other opportunities. Surveys of alumni continue to reflect strong interest in employment at NOAA. The program strongly values a diverse cohort of interns and continues to develop partnerships with HBCUs, MSIs, Tribal nations and colleges and with multicultural organizations at universities which produce degrees in NOAA sciences. Applications were received from 135 institutions across the nation, including many smaller schools. In 2024, 37% were from groups underrepresented in the NOAA mission sciences, nearly 65% were women, and 23% were first-generation college students.