The Year 1 Society for Freshwater Science Virtual Annual Meeting was held remotely on May 23-27, 2021. Emerge fellows tuned in virtually from across the USA to participate in daily Emerge workshops, plenary session watch parties, presentations, discussions, and reflection. An Emerge & Instars exclusive virtual poster session was on display in Gather. A total of 26 Emerge fellows attended: 11 undergraduate students, 11 graduate students, and 4 early career professionals.