We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Athena Brensberger a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Athena, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

As a science communicator, there are many skills that have to be developed and fine-tuned over time, it was not something that came naturally but instead had to persistently be worked on. This can go for anyone working as a host or explainer on TV, YouTube, in the science community, or not – it’s not unique to science communicators but to all communicators in general. I started volunteering at science museums straight out of college when I took a pause after earning my associate’s degree to pursue a career as a fashion model and online personality via YouTube.

I knew if I wanted to pursue explaining what I was learning in my science classes to friends or those who would listen, I had to work on my speaking skills. This includes diction & annunciations, posture and eye contact, voice functions, and tone, rhythm, and speed.. and so much more.

So I decided since I didn’t have the several hundred dollars that it costs to hire an agent or hire a speech coach, I “learned on the job” and volunteered at science museums especially because I wanted to get accustomed to presenting niche words only found within the subject matter I was aiming to create my youtube channel around (i.e. space words). Globular cluster, centripetal acceleration, lunar libration, maximum aerodynamic pressure – these are just a few examples of words we might not use on a daily basis so to become confident in the pronunciations of such, took practice.

These are just some examples of my journey of “learning the craft”. However, there is so much more such as research into the subject matter because to be in the science community, you’ve got to eat, sleep, dream, about science, know fundamentals in and out, and leave room for the potential changes to theories that can happen at any moment.

Athena, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a passionate science communicator and astronomer with a goal to make complex concepts accessible to all. I aim to increase the representation of women and girls in STEM by making engaging science videos that are fun and easy to absorb and showing that anyone can do anything so long as they put their mind to it!

As a previous student researcher at the Hayden Planetarium/Natural History Museum in NYC, my passion and experiences studying astronomy have allowed me to delve into the mysteries of celestial objects and phenomena to create educational content online, with the goal of paving the way for new discoveries to be made.

I founded Astroathens in 2016 to reach this goal. I became a host of of my first science TV show called Suppressed Science, which explores various areas within science that for one reason or another have been suppressed or not funded and ignored. This intrigued me as the traditional route of research within a university can be challenging for some scientists as the competition to get funding seems to be high and grant money is scarce. Ultimately their area of research may not get chosen.

I am a current student at Arizona State University’s Astronomy & Planetary Science Department, and I am so proud of this. After taking nearly a decade away from my higher education to pursue a worldwide modeling career, I started to feel like I may never return to school to finish what I started, but I made the decision to find a university with a killer online program in astronomy and began my journey in Fall 2022.

Another reason I created Astroathens was to find community online. To connect to those who might be actively in STEM, want to pursue a career in STEM, or just want to be scientifically literate without having to go through a whole program at a university. Who perhaps don’t want to be a practicing scientist, but understand the world around us more deeply. I believe we all have the right to be scientists and understand the beauty of the natural world.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Being able to create something unique for the world and meeting others through it.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

To increase the representation of girls and women in STEM!

Contact Info:

• Website: astroathens.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/astroathens
• Facebook: facebook.com/astroathens
• Twitter: twitter.com/AstroAthens
• Youtube: youtube.com/astroathens
• Other: Tiktok.com/astroathens

Image Credits
Athena Brensberger