Student Profiles

SHERP has a long tradition of attracting outstanding students, and the program's 30th class is a typically diverse and accomplished group. Profiles of the 29th, 28th, 27th, 26th, 25th and 24th classes are also available for viewing. (Note: All students wrote their profiles before coming to SHERP.) To see what SHERP graduates are doing now, visit the alumni page.

 

Emma Bryce holds a degree in print journalism and environmental science from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Eternally in love with the African landscape, she is nevertheless ready to chase after her passion for writing about environment, humans and health on a global scale. How to pursue a decidedly international career while remaining thoroughly African at heart is what Emma ponders most often late at night. SHERP appears to be the first, exciting step.

 

 

Jonathan Chang recently graduated from Johns Hopkins University with an M.A. in neuroscience, specializing in auditory processing. As a result, he's obsessed with sounds, music, languages, and brains. In addition to stimulating his aural centers, he likes to mess around with the sense of taste through unusual cooking and eating excursions. He's glad to be part of SHERP and looks forward to writing about how awesomely bizarre science can be.

 

 

Kathryn Doyle recently graduated from the College of the Holy Cross, having majored in biology and English. Undergraduate studies led her to a small field research station in Mexico for a few months in pursuit of whales and to a summer at Universita Ca'Foscari in Venice, Italy, in the more relaxing pursuit of travel writing. She is happy to let life take her back to New York, her home state, and to SHERP.

 

 

Laura Geggel has loved writing since her acrostic poetry days in elementary school. After working in two labs and studying English literature and psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, she combined her passion of writing with science. She interned at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer health desk and then at Harvard Medical School's Focus. For the past three years, Laura has worked at two newspapers near Seattle, covering education, news, community and health stories.

 

 

Justine Hausheer is a graduate of Princeton University, where she received a B.A. in English and a minor in environmental studies. As a varsity lightweight rower in both high school and college, Justine spent countless hours in the middle of a lake, wearing spandex and gripping a 12-foot oar. A native of Orlando, Florida, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and picking up strange rocks.

 

 

Miriam Kramer graduated with her B.S. in journalism from the University of Tennessee. Although she fully intended on majoring in English when first entering college, Miriam instead fell in love with the sciences. Not willing to give up writing, she combined her two passions, working as a science writing intern for the Department of Microbiology and later serving as the Editor-in-Chief for TNJN.com. She could not be more excited to call herself a “SHERPie.”

 

 

Taylor Kubota has always loved learning. She studied biological anthropology and health care/social issues at the University of California, San Diego, which allowed her to take classes in ten different departments. While an undergraduate, she also worked seven jobs, ranging from work in student affairs to a museum volunteer position. In the hopes of continuing (and sharing) her life of diverse learning, she is honored to be a part of SHERP's 30th class.

 

 

Virat Markandeya has a B.A. in political science from Delhi University and a journalism post-grad from the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai. After working in business journalism for four years, he managed to bluff his way into starting up Scientific American’s India content. Two years on, he thinks he has found his calling. He still considers himself an amateur at telling science and wants to be trained at SHERP to become a real pro.

 

 

Susan Matthews is trading the hills of New Hampshire for New York City, as she comes to SHERP straight after graduating from Dartmouth College. As an environmental studies major, she worked in a biogeochemistry lab and traveled through southern Africa. She found her true passion, however, in writing for and ultimately being editor-in-chief of Dartmouth's daily paper. SHERP provides a lovely solution to bridging her two interests, and she can't wait to get back to the reporting side of journalism.

 

 

Allison McCann has a B.S. in science, technology and society from Stanford University, an interdisciplinary major that allowed her to combine a passion for environmental science with effective communication skills. As an undergraduate, she juggled her time between the varsity soccer team, classes, and writing for the student-run Stanford Scientific Magazine. A born and raised California girl, she's a bit nervous about the New York winters but is very excited to continue writing about science at SHERP.

 

 

Benjamin Plackett is a graduate of Imperial College London with a B.Sc. honors degree in biology. While studying at SupAgro University in Montpellier, France, he discovered that his passion lay in scientific journalism. Having interned at The Times in London, he is eager to embrace the world of science writing. He has kept his links to Imperial as an Associate of the Royal College of Science.

 

 

Kelly Slivka finished up her B.A. in English and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, after which she traded amber waves of grain for actual waves of water. The past three years, she's been stalking endangered whales on the East Coast for various conservation and research institutions, a profession that has given her plenty of fodder for fascinating science writing, but no feasible outlet. And then there was SHERP.

 

 

Ashley Taylor holds a B.A. in biology from Oberlin College. Her first real lab job taught her that what she had liked about science all along was not working in a lab but thinking, asking questions, and writing. Since 2009, she has written for the Somerville News, a weekly newspaper in Somerville, Massachusetts. She looks forward to returning to science as a journalist. When not writing, she loves to take ballet classes.

 

 

Kate Yandell graduated from Williams College with a B.A. in English and biology. English took her to Oxford University her junior year to try her hand at Old English. Biology led her to the swamps of Cape Cod to research marine worm development, and also prompted journeys through the scientific literature to understand everything from why the giant sloths and saber tooth tigers died out to how microbes communicate. She likes to sing, run, and hang out in coffee shops and libraries.