Welcome to Sweet Tea, Science

Mt. St. Helens, Summer 2012

Let us start by first saying welcome! We are excited and proud to be launching the Sweet Tea, Science blog today. We are two scientists from Kentucky currently working on obtaining our PhDs.  Aside from academic pursuits, we are passionate about sharing our interests in various STEM topics, travel, and sustainable living. It is our hope that through Sweet Tea, Science we can share our knowledge, practice our communication skills, and learn from you!

Costa Rica, Winter 2007

In addition to being hysterical scientists, we are also real life friends! We met in 2005 at Western Kentucky University where we both obtained a BS in Biology with concentrations in Biodiversity, Ecology, and Conservation. Meridith is an overachiever, and also has a minor in mathematics! During our time at WKU (go Tops!), we both completed Honor’s theses and graduated from WKU’s Honors College.  While in college we studied (we took pretty much every biology class together), traveled (numerous Central and South American countries, Africa, Michigan…), and adventured together (everything is an adventure!).  After graduating, we continued to learn and explore as a team, and now we are tackling the blogging world as a dynamic duo.

Florida, Spring 2007

Meridith went on from WKU to study algae cultivation for biofuel production at New Mexico State University for her Masters in Wildlife Science, with a minor in Applied Statistics. Again, overachiever. Her blog and Facebook page, Always A Scientist, started in early 2012 as part of an application to HiSEAS. Meridith continued with the blog off and on for two years, enjoying it immensely, but never fully committing to posts. She is currently about to start her PhD in Statistics and looks forward to the opportunity to apply stats to ecological systems.  Rachel went from WKU to sunny southern California to work on a Masters in Biology at California State University, Long Beach.  She completed her degree in the summer of 2012 and moved on up the coast to the central valley to tackle a PhD! Similar to Meridith, Rachel started her blog, Practical Ecologist, in November of 2012 and really enjoyed it, but didn't have the time to commit to it like she really wanted.  What were two lady scientists to do?

Grand Canyon, Spring 2010

In November 2013, we decided to combine our powers and create a new blog (and associated media) to share our passions and interests. By working together on this endeavor we hope we can stay motivated and provide more consistent content for our readers. We envision this blog as a way to share longer posts about STEM-related topics, advice for students, peaks into life as a graduate student, fun science-y projects, insights into sustainable practices, and snapshots of how the process of science works.  We imagine our audience to be diverse and include people generally interested in science (everyone?), those who want to explore science with their kids or friends, college students, and aspiring graduate students seeking advice.  We will share shorter content via Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Follow us on all the things!

South Africa, Summer 2008

With that being said, we also want to hear from you about your interests, questions, and requests. What topics would you like us to cover and how? All the content from our old blogs can be found on this website, so feel free to give is a look over and tell us things you like or dislike.  Do you need help in any of your classes and think we could explain a concept more in depth? Are you looking to plan a fun vacation and want some amazing science or nature related activities included? Let us know! We are also eager to find guest contributors of all ages.