EduBirdie Talks: Writing Journey is Never Limited to Writing

"I do a lot of things, and that’s what makes me."

To better familiarize our users with our team and make us closer, we decided to open a new blog section where we will interview our employees. We want to show you that EduBirdie is not just a website. We are a family, a single organism, and a whole team full of bright and enthralling personalities.
Disclaimer: For privacy reasons, EduBirdie is not allowed to disclose the identity of our users as well as our authors. It doesn’t make MSc.Environment_9’s story any less engaging though!

​Just tell us a bit about yourself, and then I’ll go on with some more questions.

I have done 2 masters in Environmental Science. I have ten years of experience in content writing. I have a lot of hobbies, some of which include painting, gardening, and yeah, I love writing. Short and sweet.

That’s a lot. How did it all start? I mean writing. Did you write at school or something for yourself? What was it?
I used to write at school, the school magazine. I also always had a diary. Wherever I went, I always had a notebook with me. I was a very quiet person, so I would always write things down. As I grew up, at college I used to write scripts. You know, playwriting. Academic writing came when I was in Germany for the first time. I was working with the professor, recording his notes. I also prepared some tutorials, converted some German tutorials to English. Then I started publishing articles online, voluntarily first. I slowly got associated with academic organizations, considered writing essays for money even at that time and then EduBirdie got along a few years later.

That sounds like quite a journey. Tell me a bit more about scriptwriting. It sounds so interesting.
I was also acting in that play. Just a play showing educating people. I think it was a part of an awareness program. We also did a presentation later, so I prepared the materials there as well just for awareness.

To be honest I was expecting something more like...
*laughs* No, no. It was related to science. I’m not Shakespeare. I didn’t get a chance. Maybe in the future.

Let’s get back to hobbies. You said painting and gardening, right?
Have you heard of mandala, mandala art? A lot of Germans and Europeans draw it. I do it when I want to free some mindspace, just to relax and unwind. The paintings I do are all about nature, flowers, that sort of thing.

It straight connects us to gardening. Is it a small garden or do you have room plants, what is it?
It’s not a small garden, really. More like a couple of pots wherever I got place indor. I sow seeds on my own. I like to grow things. I used to grow my own vegetables a couple of years ago. It gives me a lot of contentment when a plant grows and flowers blossom.

Has it ever helped you in the writing sphere?
Definitely. I’ve written essays on gardening or applied for them. I also follow gardening blogs, so I have a lot of knowledge on the topic.

I also happen to know that you make your own wine and beer. Is that true?
*laughs* Yeah, that was so handy during the lockdown.

How does it work? How do you do it?
I personally like red wine. So, I get those grapes that are used for the wine and I make them a bit fermented. You ferment them at home by soaking. Then you add it into a pulp, add sugar if needed. I can make like one or two bottles at a time. I also made ginger beer. It’s a bit more complicated, but yeah.

Do you order all the ingredients online?
You can order it online, but I just found them on the local market.

Let’s talk more about writing. There’s so much writing around. Why did you choose academic writing not creative for example?
Well, academic writing just came to me through internships and experience as I mentioned. I kept working as an academic writer because I really like doing research, getting to know more subjects. It just intrigues me. I always loved the academy and researching. Academic writing makes me stay in touch with knowledge and science in general.

You also do handwriting, right? One of those people who still send handwritten letters.
It does have its own charm. I feel handwriting makes you connect better with people.

But you do some writing apart from the academic one, right?
I do some creative writing but it’s connected to my academics. I did my master’s in Environmental Science, so I prepare quotations, quotes about environmental sustainability. Sometimes I also help local businesses like florists or gardeners by writing adverts. Apart from freelance writing, I work as a full-time senior content writer with a healthcare company. The writing I do there is more technical.

Okay, we know how you ended up with writing, but what got you to your major, Environmental Science? What motivates you?
I did my Bachelors in Microbiology. Back then in 2009, Environmental Science as a subject was just coming up. I used to read a lot of research magazines and publications. I also emailed some researchers. I was very interested in all the issues that were reported. I just felt I had to get into the uplight field of Microbiology and Environment Ecology, that direction. In any way I can contribute to environmental education or a sustainable lifestyle, I do it.

Do you volunteer in any environmental events?
Yes, in the Ireland recycle event, Every Can Counts. It’s the name of the organization. I don’t know if it still exists. It educated people about the importance of recycling cans. I also did a couple more later: random garbage picking, environmental awareness among children, and so on. Whenever I get a chance I do volunteering.

There is another interesting thing I have written down. You’ve been working as a dog trainer, was it?
Oh yes. I was doing my Master’s in Ireland, and every student needs a part-time job. It was somehow very difficult to get a part-time job in Ireland. I don’t know, they were just hiring locals or something, and I really needed it. It just happened. I think the first dog was from someone of the students around the campus. I saw the post on the university blog, and I love dogs, so that’s how it started. Then another one and another one. Then I opened a facebook page. It was very exciting and very challenging.

Is there any other important part of your life you’d like to share?
I’m a student mentor, a part of the mentor program in my university. A student silky approached me for mentoring and guiding her through a career path. It’s my first mentoring and I’m very proud of it.

So, it’s held by the university?
Yes. It’s a voluntary program, and a student selects you based on his or her interests. So, my role is to guide her. It gives me satisfaction. Someone similar to my education needs help, and I’m able to provide it with my experience.

How does it work? The process itself. What do you guys talk about?
We have a minimum amount of sessions we should meet. So, we make a Zoom call. I cannot tell you what we are talking about, it’s confidential. But basically, whatever help she needs or any advice or question, I try to answer it.