Rita Aksenfeld

As a science communicator, I help people connect with the science around them. I want to spark curiosity in those who find science boring. And I want to expand access to scientific information to those often excluded due to disabilities.

As a science communicator, I try to reach audiences regardless of the level of their science knowledge. As a student in the Science Communication M.S. program at UC Santa Cruz, I have had the opportunity to report on a variety of scientific topics. It was particularly rewarding to highlight scientists and policymakers working on air quality monitoring in Uganda for Eos this fall and include the historical and sociological context of their findings in the article. At the Santa Cruz Sentinel this fall, I practiced working on the quick turnaround needed for daily news that allows little time for back-and-forth edits. As a social media intern at The Seymour Marine Discovery Center this winter, I created marketing content and distill ocean science and marine biology concepts into short videos for the organization’s Instagram account and newsletter.