Dana D’Amico ’13: Science Writing Launched Her Career

Dana D'Amico has always liked science and writing. When she arrived at Allegheny College in 2009, she had no idea that the student-run newspaper, The Campus would give her the opportunity to excel at both, laying the foundation for a successful career in science marketing and communications.

She found The Campus during an activity fair during her freshman year and initially signed up to be a writer, then worked her way up to photography editor and layout graphic design editor. But her proudest moment was becoming the paper's first science section editor.

"I was interested in science writing as a career, and I pitched a weekly column featuring science stories on campus and around the country," Dana recalled. "Writing one profile a week was an insane pace that I had never experienced before. But it gave me an opportunity to test drive this career path. When I graduated there were no science marketing jobs. Today, this field is a hot commodity."

Her years at The Campus improved her writing speed and ability to meet deadlines and taught her the importance of standards and ethics in news reporting.

Dana credits Allegheny College's unusual major/minor combinations for preparing her for her current career. A biology major with a minor in creative writing, today she is a global marketing development manager for Thermo Fisher Scientific, and the only person in the life sciences division with this unique educational background. Dana also works as a science writer for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and, in her spare time, runs her own graphic design business, using the graphic design and layout skills she first learned at The Campus.

"In the biology program, my mentor Dr. Bradley Hersh was interested in science writing, which I didn't know was a career option for someone with a biology degree," she noted. "He set the stage for my interest in science marketing and science communications. And Dr. Matt Ferrence, who teaches nonfiction writing, changed my perspective on writing and helped me apply to the MFA program at the University of Minnesota."

Dana's advice for current students is to use their experience at The Campus to test out their own interests, break out of their comfort zones, and develop important soft skills like interviewing and communication. "Anyone can contribute to the newspaper, even if you don't want to be a journalist," she said. "It's a great place to proactively pitch your own ideas and then execute them. Most of all, it's a fun organization with amazing people."