Sor Bello and Jose Armando Keppis are the recipients of the 2024 National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI) Undergraduate Scholarship Awards. They began the internship in May 2024 at Silver Springs Maryland and will continue until May 2026. Sor and Jose are currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Earth System Science and Environmental Engineering at the City College of New York (CCNY).
Sor’s research focuses on Using Satellite Data to Evaluate Equity Power in Power Restoration After Extreme Weather Events. She is mentored by CUNY CREST HIRES Director, Dr. Shakila Merchant from CCNY and Dr. Julie Hoover, Sr. Communications and STEM engagement Specialist from NOAA. This summer, Sor will be serving as a Satellite Data Analyst Intern in NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS) Line Office.
Jose’s research focuses on Using VIIRS Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity to Compare and Contrast the Effects of Urban Heat Islands (UHI) on Socially Vulnerable Populations Living in Urban and Rural Settings. It aims to use NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) data to determine UHI and SVI in a resolution the size of half of the United States. Jose is mentored by Dr. Natasha White from the NOAA Office of Education.
Sor and Jose are excited about this internship. Sor said, “I look forward to learning more about Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing applications that provide capabilities to analyze satellite data. Also, I am delighted to be closely working with Julie Hoover and Amy Leibrand and learning from their insights and expanding my knowledge in NOAA mission-aligned research. This opportunity will help me increase my knowledge in GIS, which I am very passionate about.” Additionally, Sor also aims to improve her coding skills and network with the NOAA community. She believes that this opportunity will help her grow as a student, researcher, and professional as well as better understand how to help her community. Jose said,. “I am most excited about having a partnership with NOAA throughout my time at City College as, owing to my continuous internship with NOAA NESDIS, it would give me a pathway to bridge to the NOAA CESSRST II Center.” Jose believes that this internship has opened him up to collaborative work with NOAA and NASA. This is also where he gets to display his training in several facets. He hopes to gain experience in working on Java and Python throughout the United States Geological Survey (USGS), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and NOAA databases. He said, “I cannot stress enough how important computer science is for better understanding of science and tackling global environmental issues and grand challenges. ”
Jose Armando Keppis during a visit to his internship sites at NOAA NESDIS in Suitland Maryland
Sor and Jose shared their motivation to apply to this internship. Sor said, “I did not know much about this program until my mentor, Dr. Shakila Merchant encouraged me to apply. I learnt about the great opportunities and benefits that this internship offers and believed that it was a perfect chance for me to continue researching and expanding those skills, honing my computer coding skills, and becoming workforce-ready.” Jose said, “I felt encouraged to apply after meeting with the Program Director, Dr. Natasha White from NOAA. She told me that as a student with previous experience in research and being from an MSI who is looking to get a graduate degree in an Earth Science (or NOAA supported Discipline), I would be perfect for this opportunity and fit in with NOAA as a long term commitment.”
Commenting on Sor’s achievement, Dr. Shakila Merchant said, “CUNY Summer Bridge Program provides valuable resources and robust pathways for students like Sor who not only transferred to CCNY (senior college) from Hostos community college but also learnt about the NOAA opportunities during 2023 CUNY summer bridge program. We hope to support more students this summer to apply for these valuable opportunities In fall 2024.”
Sor and Jose are grateful for the resources and opportunities provided to them by the City College and CUNY CREST. It enabled them to prepare for this internship as well as excel in it. Sor said, “I am thankful to have participated in the CUNY CREST REU and Summer Bridge Program as a Scholar. I was able to conduct research on Ocean Heat Content, Climate Change, and its Effect on Hurricane Intensification under the mentorship of Keneisha Hibbert, a NOAA CESSRST graduate fellow. I gained a lot of skills by being part of this research such as coding, analyzing big sets of data directly extracted from NOAA, learning about GIS, and MATLAB, and creating different plots. All these sets of skills are transferable and currently being used at NOAA.”
CUNY CREST wishes Sor and Jose the best in their journey as NOAA EPP/MSI USP Scholars!
