By: Katie Clelland ’21
This month, Scripps launched a new Instagram account, @scripps.fellowships, to highlight and share information about students’ fellowships, research, and scholarship opportunities. In a series called “Research Bytes,” the account uses Instagram’s IGTV video platform to feature brief vlogs about students’ summer research projects and to provide information about the fellowships that made these projects possible. The account will feature a short series of three-minute videos every Monday for the duration of the fall semester.
Environmental analysis major Olivia Klein ’22 was featured for her summer research examining the 2020 park census project. She explored accessibility and inclusion from an environmental justice perspective in public parks in Oakland, California. “Access to public green space is correlated to physical and emotional wellbeing, so who feels safe, comfortable, and physically able to use these spaces is important in the discussion of urban health equity,” Klein explained. “This issue is especially pertinent in a city like Oakland, which has experienced significant gentrification over the past 10 years.”
Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor of Biology Jennifer Armstrong said the account was created to meet the needs of the Scripps community in the current remote learning environment. “We wanted to accomplish two goals: feature student research, and improve communication with students,” she said. “We reached out to our summer research students to get their feedback, and they proposed creating short videos of their projects that could be viewed by the entire community at any time, which we thought was a perfect solution. Students felt that IGTV would allow us to showcase students’ research videos, and a new Instagram account would allow the Fellowships Office to communicate with the student body quickly.”
Armstrong hopes the account will allow students to find opportunities for future endeavors. “We hope that the IG account allows students to discover new funding opportunities, find the support to pursue those opportunities, celebrate their hard work, and build community,” she said. “The account also serves as a place where the broader Scripps community can celebrate our students’ research projects and successes. We hope that this account serves as a starting place for students to connect to, support, and learn from each other.”