Maci Lesh is entering her second year at The Collegian and her first as science editor, a role that puts her in the unusual position of translating other people’s expertise for a living. She didn’t grow up dreaming about a byline in a science section. If anything, past Maci would be baffled by present Maci, but somewhere between the AP Statistics class she barely survived and two science minors, this became the work she wanted to do.
It started, somewhat improbably, in N212, her high school classroom, and springboarded into what is now her dream career: journalism. Lesh spent her first year at The Collegian writing for every desk she could get her hands on — news, science, arts and entertainment, life and culture and opinion — and she served as the city council beat reporter. This year, she’s excited to bring everything she learned along the way to the science desk.
As a political science major with minors in media studies, science communication and global environmental sustainability, she’s spending her CSU career building the exact toolkit this role requires: policy, communication and sustainability. The long-term goal is a byline at National Geographic, so consider this her quiet, ongoing audition.
Outside the science desk, Lesh also frequently writes for opinion, where she explores issues with more nuance and personal voice, a skill she considers just as vital to science writing as it is to commentary. Opinions, to her, are a lot more fun when you stop pretending there’s only one right answer.
When she’s not reporting, she’s usually rewatching “Gilmore Girls,” buying red hair dye to continue her ginger propaganda (she’s naturally blonde), overthinking a Spotify playlist or Instagram post or spending money she doesn’t have on concert tickets. Lesh is a proud first-generation student and political activist.
Mostly, though, she’s looking forward to continuing to build a science desk that CSU and the community can trust.
