For the past five+ years, The GLOBE Program has hosted an International Virtual Science Symposium (IVSS). This annual event invites primary through undergraduate GLOBE (Global Learning and Opportunities to Benefit the Environment) students to showcase their Earth science research in an entirely online platform. With GLOBE, students learn the practices of science through hands-on investigations in their own communities, sparking their curiosity and interest in science. This often leads to inquiries that help solve real-world problems and further understanding of our global environment. Students from around the world submit their research projects to a panel of international scientists, teachers, subject matter experts, graduate students, and other interested community members for scoring and valuable feedback which will help them improve as scientists. As well, students are awarded digital badges if they demonstrate specific scientific practices such as collaboration, data science, and engineering. Badges are also awarded to students who work with STEM professionals, explore STEM careers, demonstrate community impacts, and share their research in creative ways such as through storytelling. By the time the pandemic started shutting down schools across the world, the 2020 IVSS was already underway and was able to continue with few interruptions. This helped to reinforce the IVSS as a model for virtual student engagement on a global scale. As well, we now have five years of data to help assess the efficacy of the IVSS, analyze its growth, and help direct future engagement opportunities. Planning for the 2021 IVSS is already underway and we are currently working on how to incorporate COVID-19-related restrictions into the model by encouraging a focus on using previously collected GLOBE data and creating student resources aimed at improving data science skills.