When Kaity Melvin, ’16, arrived at Meredith College she knew she wanted to become a science communicator, and Meredith gave her the foundation she needed to pursue that dream.
“In recent years there’s been a real issue regarding how science is reported on in the media, and I want to be able to report on science in a way that is clear to the reader, and also accurate to the science.”
The Lawrence, Kansas, native earned a bachelor’s degree in biology with a professional writing and presentation media minor. Her Meredith education gave her the writing training that she would need and the science background that was essential to her becoming a science writer.
“During my sophomore year, I was able to work on a research project with Dr. Cuffney to see just how poorly science is reported on, specifically human evolution,” said Kaity. “That helped foster my need to learn how to accurately and clearly talk about science with the general public.”
Kaity worked hard during her time at Meredith to make sure her graduate school application was strong. She was a member of Beta Beta Beta Honor Society, Impact Raleigh, and Spectrum. After graduation, she was accepted to Boston University where she pursued a master’s degree in science journalism.
“If it wasn’t for my Meredith faculty I wouldn’t have pushed myself and applied to graduate school where I did,” said Kaity. “Their constant support of my dreams made me confident enough to pursue graduate school. They were my strongest believers.”
During her graduate school career, Kaity served as the webmaster and contributing editor and writer for Boston University News Service’s Science section. She also had the opportunity to attend the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting, which is the world’s largest science conference. It was during that experience when she gathered many of her story ideas.
As a part of her professional writing minor at Meredith, Kaity took a course in web design and management, which helped her when it came to redesigning the Boston University News Service science website. She also used those skills to build her own professional website and portfolio of her work.
Having received her master’s degree in May, Kaity is now interning with NOVA, a documentary series on PBS that focuses on various areas of science, its many applications, speculation, history, and researchers. At NOVA, she will be working with Anna Rothschild on Gross Science, a YouTube series.
“Funnily enough, during Dr. Pickering’s parasitology course we would watch Anna Rothschild’s Gross Science videos,” said Kaity.
Interning at NOVA has been something that Kaity has wanted to do since she was a child. At the conclusion of her internship, she hopes to continue working in the Boston area, either creating videos to help teach the public about science or writing for a major science publication.
“I am absolutely living the dream and I know that my Meredith background will continue to take me far in wherever I choose to go,” said Kaity. “Meredith was a loving community that really helped foster my skills and my confidence in myself and just what I can achieve.”
Learn more about the biology major and professional writing minor
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