As a kid, I couldn’t decide between being a writer or being a scientist. It wasn’t until college that I realized I could combine these passions through science journalism. After graduating from the University of Florida, I moved to the West Coast for the University of California, Santa Cruz’s Science Communication Master’s Program. And now, I’m thrilled to be serving The Gazette as a corps member for Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. I’m also a journalist on the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, a regional collaboration between 10 newsrooms that covers agriculture, water and related issues throughout the basin.