Be A Maverick. The University of Texas at Arlington
Literary science
A trek to the Alaskan tundra this summer broadened horizons and refocused career goals for alumna Camille Rogers.
She graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in biology and then spent a month in Alaska, working side-by-side with a graduate student from biology Associate Professor Laura Gough’s laboratory. They collected plant and seed samples from different types of tundra, counted seedlings and determined percent cover of the plants.
“Rogers said the outdoor work differed from any other research she’d performed. She had previously worked 10-hour days at a microbiology lab where she gained practical scientific experience through the McNair Scholars Program, which prepares qualified undergraduates from under-represented backgrounds for graduate study.
She described the program as a huge learning experience. It was essentially a job, she said, and results were expected within just three months. The challenge groomed her future and helped her understand more about her interests.
“I ultimately decided that 10 hours a day inside a lab is not for me,” she said.
Yet her research experiences sparked a related area of interest. As an undergraduate, Rogers wrote for UT Arlington Magazine and The Shorthorn. That’s where she realized how much she enjoyed journalism. She’s now a graduate student studying life sciences communications at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“I’m interested in science,” she said, “but I would rather write about it than actually do all the work.”
Rogers plans a career as a scientific journalist creating documentaries or writing for magazines.