Sam Norton Email & Phone Number

I am a senior at Miami University, Oxford, majoring in biology with an environmental science co-major and a journalism minor. I expect to graduate in May 2025. My career interests lie in combining my passions for science, writing, and advocacy for protecting the outdoors. I have professional freelance journalism experience with Fondriest Environmental and Trails Magazine. At Fondriest, I have written scientific news articles and interviewed a range of sources from graduate students to internationally acclaimed researchers. At Trails Magazine I gained experience with personal narrative and adventure journalism in a high-quality outdoor publication.In the summer of 2023, I interned with the Ohio Division of Wildlife Communications unit. I learned much about how a state government office communicates with the public by telling incredible stories about their employees' work. I honed my technical and narrative writing skills centered on themes related to natural resources. I also observed research such as bird banding, electrofishing, and plant surveys.At Miami University, I am a student of the Honors College, the head editor for the Environment and Opinion sections for The Miami Student newspaper, Assitant editor for The Miami Student Magazine, and a student ambassador for the College of Arts and Sciences. I previously did undergraduate research monitoring trail cameras to quantify data on the diet of white-tail deer.Moreover, I was named to the President's List for the spring 2023 and fall 2023 semesters, an honor given to the top 3% of students in their respective colleges. I have won a Regional Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional Journalists and an Ohio News & Media Association award for my opinion columns in The Miami Student in the spring of 2023 and spring of 2024, respectively.I am passionate about the outdoors and would love to pursue a career where I positively impact the environment and encourage people to get outdoors. I will have obtained a strong scientific background with my degree, and I enjoy learning about natural systems and the innovative ways science can improve people's lives. I also enjoy writing about anything related to the environment and raising awareness about important issues, which is further bolstered by my journalism minor and extensive experience with The Miami Student. I am most interested in a career in environmental writing and journalism. Outdoor and adventure journalism is also a passion of mine, and I believe showing people the beauty of our planet encourages them to protect it.