���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������

The Ted Scripps Fellowships have been bringing award-winning environmental journalists to ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ for 29 years. Fellows embark on a year of courses, projects, field trips, seminars and more— taking advantage of everything university life has to offer. This series is a chance to get to know this year’s cohort of talented journalists beyond what a typical bio page will tell you.

Prior to the fellowship, you were working in a newsroom at the Boston Globe. What has the transition been like going from daily deadlines to being a Scripps Fellow?

I think the biggest transition is just the frequency with which I'm writing, because in the newsroom, you're writing probably a rolling average of two or three stories a week. On the fellowship, instead of writing, I'm spending my time going to classes, reading, and researching. For example, last semester I read a book on the history of plagues, “Epidemics and Society” by Frank Snowden, and I felt like that's something that I wouldn't necessarily have been able to do while working a full-time job.��

I also have the ability to explore ideas or topics that I don't have a lot of familiarity with. I’m in a class this semester in the anthropology department called Plagues and the Human Response from Past to Present, taught by Professor Sharon DeWitte. Normally, as a full-time reporter, you might not have the capacity to spend hours a week thinking about the microbiology happening inside the human body, but this year I do. It has given me a great foundation to be able to report on human health issues in a way that I don't think I would have been able to prior to the fellowship.��

What class has been your favorite class and why?��

My favorite class in the fall was definitely the climate and health class that I took at CU Anschutz medical school, with Dr. Beth Carlton. Although I had to drive to Aurora once a week, it was definitely worth it. The class focused on the intersection of climate change and human health. It's for students getting their PhD in public health, and so everything was talked about through a public health perspective. It was a great survey course for me to generate story ideas, and also to become a little bit more well rounded on those topics.

It was also very interesting to hear public health students talk about climate change, and hear their perspective on what kinds of public health solutions or systems could address climate problems.

Has there been a seminar or a field trip this past year that was especially memorable?��

I really liked going up to the Niwot Ridge Mountain Research Station because it was very related to climate science, and I was able to see some of the instruments and tools that climate scientists rely on to get data. So, that particular field trip was very impactful for me, to see how the data that we rely on is actually gathered and how much work, maintenance, and financial support is needed to continue to obtain objective and reliable climate data. I also love hiking, and so for me, it was a really great day to be able to hike and learn.

How have the other fellows in your cohort impacted the work on your fellowship project?

I would say the biggest help for me with this fellowship cohort is that all of us come from very different media backgrounds. I'm the only fellow with a more traditional newspaper background, whereas some of the other fellows come from public radio or magazine or TV.�� Hearing each of their perspectives on how to tell a story has broadened my thinking, especially when it comes to how I plan to pitch some of the stories from my fellowship project, and how I plan to approach the writing.��

What have you enjoyed about living in Boulder this past year?

My favorite thing about Boulder is the proximity to the trail systems. In the fall, I went hiking with my dog almost every weekend. The ability to get into the outdoors has been really good for my mental and physical health. I have also been pleasantly surprised by the public transit system in Boulder. I find that the buses are pretty reliable, and I don't have to drive a car during the week, which is really nice, especially having moved from a city where I took the train every day.��