We're pleased to introduce the 2021 cohort for the OSU Science Media Fellowship. Selected by a cross-disciplinary committee, this year's students brought a range of styles and approaches to the task of communicating scientific and natural resources issues while facing pandemic-era challenges to create a unique range of short films.

Maia Insinga

Maia Insinga is graduating in Spring 2021 with an Honors Bachelor of Science in Psychology and minors in Spanish and Marine Conservation and Management. She enjoys photography, surfing, hiking, camping, and of course, filmmaking. Her film for the Science Media Fellowship highlights the science of using fungi to clean up after forest fires. She decided to focus on this topic because mycoremediation is incredibly fascinating and the recent fire events have taken away places she cares about deeply. Connecting science, stories, and creativity is what she loved about making this film. She plans to continue her filmmaking career as a documentary filmmaker after graduation. 

Film: "After the Burn"

Tom McCambridge

Tom McCambridge is preparing to graduate Spring 2021 with a major in marine biology and a minor in chemistry. After spending his undergrad seeking out experiences in the science world, he discovered that his real passion is in science communication and the human element of natural resources. This is what inspired his involvement with the Marine Studies Initiative and his film project about it. He looks forward to using the storytelling skills learned through this fellowship throughout a career around natural resource education and management. 

Film: "Marine Studies Initiative: Fostering Collaboration Along the Coast"

Mayra Radzinski

Mayra graduates in the Fall of 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources and a minor in Horticulture. Her specialization is in Sustainable Landscape Consulting. She has been an environmental activist since the early 1990s. However, it was not until she moved with her family to Central Texas in 2013 that she learned the true meaning of living sustainably. Residing partially “off-grid” in a rural area made her realize the importance of collaboration among neighbors, appreciation of local knowledge, and the far-reaching impacts of community decisions. Mayra joined the Texas Agri-Life Master Gardeners in 2015 to learn more about her new environment. Volunteering opened her eyes to how much she did not know about local ecology. In 2018, she decided to put her 20-year acting and filmmaking career on the back burner to go back to school. She aims to work in environmental consulting to help regenerate and preserve natural resources. She believes in fostering a shared sense of responsibility among community members to achieve common goals. Mayra also hopes to use her decades of experience in the film industry to help promote climate resilience through strengthening communities.

Film: "All Hat and No Cattle"