Resident Gina Errico Selected as AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellow

We are proud to share that Resident Gina Errico has been selected as one of the fellows in the 2023 AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellowship. This highly competitive 10-week summer program places science, engineering, and mathematics students at media organizations nationwide. The program website states that “fellows use their academic training as they research, write, and report today’s headlines, sharpening their abilities to communicate complex scientific issues to the public.”

Errico is a master’s student in Plant Biology at Oklahoma State University, where she studies the effects of fungal spillover from coffee plantations on tropical forest tree seedlings in Costa Rica. She also runs a project called The Coffee Conflict, highlighting ongoing research projects and the people living and working in the area. 

As an SAi resident, Errico is passionate about science advocacy and believes everyone should be able to learn about and interact with science. Her project, SciXplorers, is focused on inspiring lifelong learning skills in middle-school kids by introducing them to the scientific method in a fun, informal, and accessible way. Errico presented this project at the 2023 Science Talk conference hosted by the Association of Science Communicators (ASC) in Portland, Oregon. Additionally, Errico recently discussed the SciXplorers project on SAi TV (click to watch). 

Errico writes: “The AAAS mass media fellowship will help me enhance my science writing skills so that I will be able to extend the reach of scientific research to different groups. By being able to engage more communities in science, we can increase the accessibility of science and help the public become more comfortable and trusting of it. This is also a major goal of mine as a science communicator and an SAi resident— by making science accessible to all, we can increase public trust in scientific knowledge and engage them to pursue their own scientific inquiries. I will also be working with the LA Times, that covers both local and National news, so it will be a really great opportunity to work with local communities and gain their perspective on science and science reporting to help increase its reach to the people who need to know it most.” 

Chief Resident Fanuel Muindi said, “This selection signifies Gina’s commitment to science advocacy and her passion for making science fun and accessible to all. As a former SAi Fellow (Cohort 8) and now one of our newest residents, Gina is rapidly establishing herself within the SAi Resident Collective. Her selection is truly an inspiration, and I am excited to watch her continue to expand her portfolio of experiences. ”

We congratulate Errico on this achievement and wish her all the best in her fellowship.