Florida Owens, a Ph.D. in Biomedical Science student at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, has been selected for the 2024-25 FIU University Graduate School Writing Fellows Program. This fellowship allows her to combine her two passions—writing and science.
The program supports advanced doctoral students who commit two semesters to serve as graduate writing facilitators in their programs. Fellows receive specialized training from FIU’s Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Program on leading writing groups, identifying key writing genres in their fields, and coaching students in discipline-specific writing conventions. “Clear writing helps others understand the basics of science to make informed decisions that impact their lives, build trust in the discipline, raise awareness of important issues, and engage diverse communities to address a range of problems,” said Florida.
Florida, who works under the mentorship of Nazira El-Hage, co-director of the Ph.D. in Biomedical Science program, believes that writing is essential to science at every stage, serving as the foundation for organizing project ideas, communicating with collaborators, crafting grant applications, turning significant findings into manuscripts, and sharing knowledge beyond academia.
She looks forward to enhancing her writing skills, becoming more involved in her graduate program, and gaining the experience needed to make a positive impact on her fellow students.
Florida begins her training with the WAC Program on December 6.