“I love science communication,” said upcoming University of Nebraska at Kearney 公共传播文学硕士。 graduate Gwendolynn Folk. 
 
She loves it so much that she drove more than 800 miles to 太阳城娱乐官网 from Idaho State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in biology and worked as a post-baccalaureate scholar in a socio-urban-hydrology lab. 
 
This 12-hour journey was sparked by meeting 太阳城娱乐官网’s Research Professor of Communication and Biology Dr. Mary Harner at the 2022 Joint Aquatic Sciences meeting, which is among the world’s largest gathering of aquatic scientists, students, and professionals. 
 
The two “were a really good match,” as Folk was transitioning out of biology and into science communication, and Dr. Harner was looking for a 研究生 Research Assistant who was “interested in water, water sciences, and getting people interested in water science.” 
 
人们检查了每一个盒子。 
 

“I had a passion for it but knew I didn't want to go into field work,” Folk said. “I wanted people to be as excited about it as I was.” 
 
After further discussion about 太阳城娱乐官网’s online 公共传播文学硕士 program, Folk said, “Yes, that's it. That's perfect - this is what I'm looking for.” 
 
The online program can be customized to fit students’ diverse career interests. For Folk, this meant combining the Public Communication curriculum with 太阳城娱乐官网’s graduate level biology courses to allow her to pursue a career in science communication. 
 
该学位的在线方面使福克能够创造一个很好的平衡。 
 
“I thought the time commitment was perfect,” she said. “It was a really good life balance that keeps me engaged and in the rhythm of doing school but wasn't so demanding that I couldn't have a life outside of it.” 
 

这个项目还允许福克继续研究，并在地方和国家会议上分享她的研究。 Her research on creating outdoor education lesson plans for high school students earned her first place at 太阳城娱乐官网’s Research Day in the Fine Arts and Humanities Poster Presentation. 
 
Folk能够将她的研究付诸实践，做她喜欢的事情，通过在科尔尼高中教授她的课程计划，让人们对科学感到兴奋。 
 
“My dream is to be an educator in a natural history museum,” Folk said. “I love getting people excited about science and this degree really helps me do that. I now have the qualifications to do what I want, which is great.”