After our fellowship was done, we were all flown back to D.C., and we had a “poster fair”. All of us fellows who had been placed at newsrooms pasted and arranged our articles on posters, and then we had some very nice and supportive guests tell us what a good job we had all done.
My poster:
And then all of us fellows spent the rest of the two-day “wrap-up” sessions joking, giggling, eating, and having each other’s back. It was great.
Now that it’s all done, here in no particular order are the stand-out moments as a AAAS media fellow:
1. We gave each other certificates for “superlative awards” (like what you do in high school year books), and one of the fellows brought along her childhood sticker collection to decorate the certificates with. They came out looking glittery and glamorous!
2. I got to email, call, and interview people at the Sweden UN office. I also talked to someone at the Swedish consulate.
3. And I got to interview the presenters of an Arabic science show that I’ve watched for years!
4. Seeing my name on the WIRED home page, my name coupled with the article I wrote. It never got old
5. Biking across the Golden Gate bridge.
6. Writing my favorite article of all, which was full of good people, quiet, storied forests, and voices that are heard less often.
7. Writing about Sweden, Arabs, and North Carolina (in three separate articles)
8. The apartment I sublet in Berkeley, with the attic bedroom where you can climb out the window onto the roof, and sit and read in the sunshine
9. The Ghirardelli ice cream store right by my train stop
10. Emailing most any scientist, activist, or natural resource worker and having them be eager to get back to me and be interviewed by me (though this did not extend to government people, especially in Maryland)
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