SJP Alumni Testimonials
Here's what a few former SJP Fellows had to say about the MBL's unique program:
“The SJP biomedical track gave me a lot of insight into the work scientists do and gave me long-term, unfettered access to scientists who think creatively and speak freely. I am certain that I am coming back from this program more prepared to do my job than before. The experience was overwhelmingly positive… and I largely credit the course directors, Kerry Bloom, Chad Pearson, and Racheal Bloom, for making it such a valuable encounter.” —Brendan Maher, senior editor, The Scientist (2007)
“The instructors in the SJP biomedical track were top-notch. Their lectures were clear and they were mixed well with the lab work.” —Stephanie Nano, supervisory editor/reporter, Associated Press (2007)
“SJP biomedical instructors Kerry Bloom and Chad Pearson are great teachers: educational, insightful, knowledgeable, passionate, and nice, too.” —Tetsuro Yamada, staff writer, Yomiuri Shimbun (2007)
“Rarely do working journalists get a chance to step out of their role of reporting the news to delve into the nitty-gritty world of the working scientist. The hands-on course – from digging well point, collecting water and soil samples on Martha’s Vineyard, to making sense of the data – gave me not only a better sense of what scientists do, but also how to better communicate their findings.” —Rosanne Skirble, environment/health reporter, Voice of America (2007)
“I had a fantastic time at the MBL; it was a memorable, positive and invigorating experience. Knowing that the goal of the program was to make us understand what it is like to be a working scientist, it certainly succeeded. The program reinvigorated my interest in science journalism, encouraged me to think in new ways, and reminded me how personal passions can be part of professional pursuits.” —Andrea Cross, freelance film producer (2007)
“Going through a full cycle of scientific research with three highly competent scientists/educators, with only five other SJP fellows, was a valuable use of my time. That 2:1 ratio was key to furthering my understanding of the scientist’s world. The program also expanded my journalistic world. I left inspired and with renewed purpose. The SJP program confirms this: What we do as science journalists is important, and we have a responsibility to do it right.” —Jude Isabella, managing editor, YES Magazine (2007)
“I took the marine ecology course in the MBL Science Writing Program's first summer, in '86. I was just starting out as a science writer and I look back at that summer as life-changing. The course gave me a feeling for the depths and difficulties of the practice of ecology. I got to watch teams of computer modelers and I got to watch lone biologists in rowboats. I saw how hard it is for scientists to achieve a clear view of the planetary climate, or the local pond. I also made friends with many like-minded people—journalists, biologists, historians of science. Some of those friendships have lasted to this day. All of them enriched my understanding of the scientific enterprise. I think I write better and think better because of the program, and I hope many more science writers will get a chance to benefit from it.” —Jonathan Weiner, Pulitzer Prize Winning Author, The Beak of the Finch (1986)
“Never in my life have I learned so much in so little time...My experience at MBL reacquainted me with the process of scientific discovery...My Toolik Lake experience opened my eyes to an entirely new field of inquiry.” —Lisa Seachrist, freelance (1996)
“It's clear to me that my time at MBL made me a much better science journalist in three ways. First, I got a lot of bedrock knowledge in two fields—the basis of the 'postgenomic' era (at MBL) and ecology (at Toolik). Second, I saw how to improve my questions—that it's important not to look for a bottom line, an answer, a good quotation, without also finding the intellectual context. Another way to put this is that science comes from its own context, and you can't do good science writing if you don't see how the work matters to scientists as well as to readers. Third, and most important, I learned, from the experience, to look for *how* scientists know things, not just *what* they know…it's a rare day when I don't think about how much the fellowship meant to me.” —David Berreby, freelance (1995)
“As an editorial writer at the Los Angeles Times, this [Alaska fellowship] informed my work even if I didn't directly write about Toolik Lake. For example, just after I returned from Toolik Lake, the state legislature was debating a carbon cap, which would make California a leader in legislation to slow climate change. I was able to convince the paper to support the bill and to urge our Republican governor to sign it. Whether our editorial position helped make the bill into law I can't say. But the state's largest paper went on record as supporting it and other efforts to address climate change.” —Mary Engel, Los Angeles Times (2006)
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“...I write better and think better because of the program, and I hope many more science writers will get a chance to benefit from it.”
—Jonathan Weiner, Pulitzer Prize Winning Author, The Beak of the Finch
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