This is the story of Meredith Towery and her transition from NC State Outreach Coordinator to Scientific Writer and Editor at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Deciding to continue my education and go to graduate school at NC State was an easy decision. I attended NC State as an undergrad where I received my Bachelors in business. I loved the school, the people, and the city, but I still wasn’t certain about what I wanted to do for a career. When I decided to get my Masters in communication, I had no idea just how far it would take me.
First of all, nobody told me just how hard graduate school would be! But I soon became adjusted to the workload, and got used to the idea that turning in 30 page papers every week was “normal.” I begin focusing my research and studies on public relations and marketing since I was leaning towards a career in those fields.
However, after taking an Environmental Communication course during the first semester of my second year, I knew that I wanted to work in the environmental field. I became very inspired by my professor and the research I began to do, and I was extremely excited when I learned about the opportunity to take over the role as Outreach Coordinator for NC State’s EcoCAR 2 team.
Unfortunately, I began my role as outreach coordinator during the middle of Year One of the competition, and I was only able to be with the team for a semester since I was graduating. However, I was truly inspired by the hard work and dedication of the team, and I was extremely proud to be a part of something that has such a significant impact on our environment and our future. For the first time I really felt like I was doing something that made a difference, and I knew I wanted to continue doing similar work upon graduating.
Well, I ended up finding the perfect job within weeks before graduation. I am now working for the US Environmental Protection Agency as a student contractor. My position is scientific writer and editor, and my main duty is to work with scientists to construct articles about their research in a format understandable to the public. Working alongside the engineers on NC State’s EcoCAR 2 team provided me with excellent experience and skills to perform well at my new job!
