A person created in the woods of Northern Vermont where the cows are plentiful and the people are sparse. 

While pursuing a degree in Communications from Suffolk University, I spent most of my free time working in various retail and restaurant locations — developing a fascination for how people interact within their worlds. I had managed to fall deeply in love with denim, burritos, riding my bicycle, and putting my thoughts to paper before receiving my degree in January of 2016.

Now back in the beautiful state of Vermont, the bike is stowed away in the barn and I’m the proud new owner of a car payment. But I have come to learn that a place where gorgeous views, maple creemees, and locally made cheese are in abundance is never a bad place to be.

You can find me on Instagram @awhsam

Author's Articles

Image: Michoacan copper vessels

7 minutes

[ Art ]

Creating Beauty from Scraps

By

Mexico’s copper artisans are some of the most skilled in the world. Their work recycles the materials of everyday objects and transforms them into remarkable works of art.

Read More
Image: Dogs and Volunteers at Territorio de Zaguates

10 minutes

[ Animals ]

A Sanctuary for Costa Rica’s Strays

By

Territorio de Zaguates is providing care to nearly a thousand dogs that have been taken off the streets of Costa Rica. Their story is a testament to the impact the love and determination of one person can have on others.

Read More
Image: Person kayaking with their back to the camera, heading off into the sunset

[ Conservation & Sustainability ]

What Happens When Athletes and Scientists Team Up?

By

To put it simply: breakthroughs. This nonprofit is making it possible for scientists to get the data they need from every corner of the planet by teaming them up with the adventurers who are already there.

Read More
Image: Beaver on land standing next to their freshly chewed down tree

18 minutes

[ Animals ]

Why Are Beavers So Busy?

By

These rodents are single-handedly making it possible for other species to thrive! Let’s find out how this is happening…

Read More

25 minutes

[ Food ]

Are Sea-Greens the New Superfood?

By

The benefits of kelp farming are too extensive to list in full here (but one of the most important may just be that it’s cleaning the ocean—naturally.)

Read More
Image: A gallery of Judith Scotts work

8 minutes

[ Art ]

Creative Growth: Where Artists with Disabilities Thrive

By

Creative Growth is a space where artists can hone their crafts, express themselves, and share their work with the public. This is one nonprofit making us rethink where our community focus actually is.

Read More
Image: Hand holding two closed shell mussels

6 minutes

[ Animals ]

The Fishy Side of Mussel Reproduction

By

These creatures have become really good actors over the years. Slowly changing their looks from generation to generation to look like… a fish? There’s a lot more to mussel reproduction than one would assume at first glance.

Read More
Image: Astronaut on space walk orbiting earth and waving at the camera

17 minutes

[ Innovation ]

How Do Space Suits Even Work?

By

We’ve seen people walk on the moon in them, but how has that been possible? What is it about a space suit that enables it to protect us out there?

Read More
Image: Magnification of normal human gastric mucosa, also known as the inner most layer of the stomach. Dyed.

6 minutes

[ Health ]

Mucus Does A Lot More Than Just Leak From Your Nose

By

We’re thinking it’s about time we all give this goop a little more credit for being the amazing innovation it really is!

Read More
Image: Colorful varieties of heirloom corn laid out next to each other

8 minutes

[ Business ]

Is Tradition the Secret Ingredient to Great Food?

By

If you want to have a really, really good tortilla, you’re going to need the best corn. Masienda is a company not only supporting Mexico’s small heirloom corn farmers but bringing the practices that enhance the nutritional powers of the grain back into the market.

Read More
Image: Crow looking at camera

25 minutes

[ Animals ]

You’re Probably More Like a Crow than You Thought

By

These birds probably live near you, but have you ever noticed just how intelligent they are? No? Well, you’re in for a treat.

Read More
Image: hand holding yellow and blue pigment powder

6 minutes

[ Education Enrichment ]

Why Does Human Skin Come in So Many Shades?

By

The way humans have adapted to suit life in all corners of the planet tells the extraordinary story of our history as a species. Here’s the science behind it all!

Read More
Image: A zinnia that was grown in space floating inside of the ISS with the Earth behind it.

8 minutes

[ Food ]

Did You Know We Can Garden in Space?

By

Lettuce, zinnias, peas, and radishes are just some of the plants that have found their roots in space. But what does this mean for our future?

Read More
Image: Chef carefully puts the final touches on a bug inspired dish

15 minutes

[ Animals ]

Should We All Be Eating Insects?

By

We know it’s a reach, but the best innovations always are! Insect protein takes fewer resources to produce, has all of the amino acids we need, and can be pretty tasty. Are bugs the food of the future? Let’s risk knowing more…

Read More
Image: Herd of 8 elephants on the savannah against a beautiful blue sky.

7 minutes

[ Animals ]

Celebrating Elephant Intelligence!

By

They’re a favorite animal for many, but how much do we all actually know about how elephants interact with the world? Here’s your quick overview!

Read More
Image: Woman pulling her hand made paper off of a screen

12 minutes

[ Art ]

The Craft Behind Paper

By

When’s the last time you stopped to appreciate how beautiful paper can be? Papermaking may be seen as a dying art form, but artisans like Gangolf Ulbricht are keeping the tradition alive!

Read More

8 minutes

[ Health ]

How Virtual Reality is Changing Healthcare

By

This device out of Stanford is saving lives by helping both families and medical experts understand what’s happening with Congenital Heart Defects.

Read More
Image: A close-up portrait of a female orangutan (Pongo pymaeus) and her young together, Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia

20 minutes

[ Animals ]

Orangutan Culture Feels Very… Familiar

By

We share 97% of our DNA with orangutans, but what we’ve known about their cultural customs and habits have been limited… until now.

Read More
Image: Looking up at the immensity of two Redwoods

10 minutes

[ Environment ]

Have You Been in a Tree Lately?

By

When was the last time you took a moment to really enjoy nature? Meet a man who is taking people hundreds of feet up into the limbs of the world’s oldest trees to give us a new perspective on our connection to the natural world!

Read More
Image: Chris Hadfield in the International Space Station with a bubble of water floating in his face

14 minutes

[ Pebbles ]

Have a Question? Ask an Astronaut!

By

Want to know if you’ll really get taller if you go to space? Or where we’re at with warp speed? We know you definitely want to know what it smells like up there. Astronaut Chris Hadfield discusses all of this and more in this awesome video.

Read More
Image: a sheep sitting on a rock in the Burren

11 minutes

[ Conservation & Sustainability ]

Farming the Place of Stone

By

Let’s take a journey to a lunar landscape nestled into the hills of Ireland! A place where the history, the land, and the people have become deeply intertwined over many millennia.

Read More
Image: two blonde female barbies, one adult and one child, sitting down next to an old desktop computer. The older barbie appears to be explaining the machine to her.

15 minutes

[ Education ]

The Code for a Better World

By

Girls Who Code was started by Reshma Saujani in 2012 with a goal to close the gender gap we find in the tech world, but why is this gap there in the first place?

Read More
Image: Person in donkey mask stands out in crowd of cadets in uniform

11 minutes

[ Culture ]

But Why Do We Feel So Awkward?

By

There may be some benefits to our awkward interactions with each other! Having some anxiety just thinking about it? Well, we may have a fix for that as well.

Read More

11 minutes

[ Animals ]

It’s Dance or Die for this Adorable Spider

By

The male peacock jumping spider has one of the most eccentric mating dances you’ll come across, and there’s a reason he has to put on quite a show!

Read More

7 minutes

[ Art ]

The Pieces of a Passion Project

By

There’s something unexplainably relaxing about finding yourself lost in your craft, whatever that craft may be. Suska Matsik, a talented mosaic artist, describes her connection to her process in the most beautiful way.

Read More
Image: Abstract collage of a face rabbits and psychedelic patterns

5 minutes

[ Innovation ]

This Device Turns Brain Waves Into Music!

By

This isn’t like music you’ve heard before, in fact, it doesn’t even sound all that great. But, it CAN save lives by detecting seizures when there are no other symptoms present.

Read More
Image: A very close shot of the Axolotl's face!

7 minutes

[ Animals ]

The Axolotl Can Grow Back Its Limbs, What Can You Do?

By

The insane regeneration abilities of the axolotl make it quite possibly one of the most interesting animals in the world. Whether regrowing limbs or hosting the body parts of their axolotl peers on their own frame, these creatures are incredible oddities of nature!

Read More
Image: A volcano in the distance with lush jungle in the foreground

20 minutes

[ Conservation & Sustainability ]

Costa Rica: A Country (Almost) Free of Fossil Fuels

By

In 2017, Costa Rica went 300 days without using fossil fuels to generate their electricity! How did they pull this off? Monica Araya, the co-founder of Costa Rica Limpia gives us a look into how a decision in the 1940s set them up for success.

Read More
Image: Man pretending to talk to a sculpture of an old man sitting on a bench reading the newspaper

20 minutes

[ Life Hacks ]

Here’s How to Talk to Strangers

By

There are a lot of great people out there that you don’t know! If you’d like to change that, or at least make your introductions easier, here are a few tips.

Read More