Marlowe Starling knew from a young age that she wanted to become a writer. Marlowe Starling, a self-described book geek, spent a lot time reading and enjoyed writing creative fiction.
Starling fell in love with journalism while attending high school in Miami.
Her journey to become journalist has taken her to places like Tanzania and Gainesville, where she is able to attend the University of Florida. However, her time in Hogtown is ending this week. The 22-year old will graduate from UF with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor focusing on wildlife ecology and conservation. She hopes to share stories from all over the world using the lessons learned at UF.
Starling said that I hope my work will help people understand the complexities of the challenges facing us all. It’s great because I love learning and there are people learning.
Starling admitted that it was not easy to decide that environmental journalism was the career path she wanted. Starling said that few of her classmates expressed an interest in the same topic or even telling stories from abroad.
A course in environmental journalism helped her feel more comfortable with the idea of her desired career path. It was her trip to Tanzania, followed by publication of a story on natural resource conservation efforts underway in Tanzania by children as young a 10 year old, that confirmed her intuition that she was on her right track.
It was difficult for us to agree that environmental journalism was what we should do. I should not let anyone else’s success stop me from doing what I want.
Starling doesn’t consider herself a student journalist. However, she isn’t actively looking for work. Starling will be traveling to Germany as a RIAS Berlin Commissioner fellow, a program that promotes information and the exchange of people in broadcast journalism. Next, she will be heading to New York University for a masters program in science, environmental, and health reporting.
Starling said that she is excited about the next stage of her life. Starling said that even though she took as many classes as possible, she was disappointed not to have the opportunity to take classes in areas such as Russian literature or conservation criminology.
She stated that Saturdays at The Swamp are one of the things she will miss most about UF.
Starling said that Saturday game days in Gainesville are the best because everyone is there to root for the same team. She encourages incoming Gators, Starling said, to take advantage every opportunity UF offers and to try all that is interesting.
She said that I don’t think I could have had a better college education at any other university before deciding to attend UF. The opportunities I’ve had here are beyond what I could have hoped for.
Cynthia Roldán Hernández April 25, 2022
