NOAA-Funded Program Helps Miami Teens from Under-Resourced Schools Enter Marine Science Field

The Your Shores program at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science provides high school students from diverse backgrounds with dive certifications, habitat restoration and research experience, and marine science training.

To address the inequity of opportunities for students of all backgrounds in the marine science field and promote community-based restoration, the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science launched the Yours Shores program in 2023 for first-generation college-bound high school students in Miami-Dade County. NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation funds the program for three years with $606,000 through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

Students receive free training, mentorship, and certifications to help them become more competitive applicants to science degree programs and marine science jobs. The Your Shores program includes:

• Professional Association of Diving Instructors dive certifications
• Training and field work in community-based coastal restoration
• Opportunities to care for an underwater coral nursery, plant native coastal species, and clean up marine debris
• Experience doing hands-on research, such as biological monitoring
• Connections with working scientists and other professionals
• A $1,000 stipend

Yours Shores is a new elective part of the museum’s long-running Upward Bound Math and Science program. This four-year, federally funded program provides high school students with STEM-based learning, college preparation, and opportunities to participate in internships, research, and community events.

Eliminating Barriers

“It’s hard for a lot of students to see themselves in the marine science field and in science in general,” says Giselle Garcia, project director for the Upward Bound Math and Science program. “It’s not just because most scientists don’t look like them or come from similar backgrounds, but because there are so many barriers.”

Your Shores participants are recruited from under-resourced Miami high schools where positions for science teachers and guidance counselors often go unfilled.