October 14, 2026 — What happens when two educators from landlocked Kansas trade wheat fields and prairie winds for views of the open ocean aboard NOAA research vessels? They return to their classrooms with firsthand scientific observations, memorable stories of marine life, and a vital message for their students: ocean health, scientific discovery, and maritime careers belong to every community.
This summer, through NOAA’s Teacher at Sea Program, teachers Amelia Black of Topeka and Guy Sturdevant of Wichita traveled from the heartland to different coasts to serve as members of science teams conducting research at sea. Though the program has sailed more than 900 educators on federal research vessels since 1990, relatively few participants have hailed from the Sunflower State. Sturdevant and Black represent only the 9th and 10th Teachers at Sea from Kansas.
Black, who teaches English as a Second Language at Topeka’s Jardine Middle School, headed 900 miles south to help scientists survey groundfish in the eastern Gulf of America. Sturdevant is a chemistry, earth science, and ecology teacher at Wichita Northwest High School. He journeyed nearly 5,000 miles northwest to join scientists on a midwater acoustic trawl survey of pollock in the Bering Sea. Both were eager for the opportunity to inspire students to step out of their comfort zones and expand their horizons.