At one of our Bear Essential News Young Reporter Meetings, Mikyla Mace Kelley spoke with us. Kelley works with scientists from the University of Arizona and shares their fascinating research with the public and the media.

She shared that she always used to hate writing because she felt she was not very good at it, but she liked art and science growing up. In college she decided to study neuroscience and cognitive science because it sounded interesting to her but she did not have a plan for what she was going to do with the degree. Kelley learned that being in a lab was not for her. She decided that she wanted to try out science illustration after she got her degree.

Kelley shared that she had to learn how to ask and answer questions about science related topics, so she decided to obtain her bachelor’s degree in journalism. She said that writing was just like learning how to ride a bike, it took time but once she got the hang of it, it was easy. After she completed her degree she worked as a news reporter and then was excited to work for the UofA. She has stories on news.arizona.edu , and I recommend checking it out to learn more about what is going on at the university.