Letter from the Editors-in-Chief
Written by Caleb Ford and Claire Harper
Illustrated by Maisie Nievera
Since its inception, Catalyst has prided itself on being the voice of the College of Natural Sciences (CNS). Created by the Natural Sciences Council (NSC) to highlight student life, our magazine has always strived to spur conversation, relieve stress, and ignite curiosity among Longhorns. In pursuit of this mission, Catalyst has hosted a plethora of successful resources and initiatives, from its annual creative contest (formerly writing contest) to its grade distributions guide.
In 2021, the Catalyst staff determined that an expansion would be required to better serve the CNS community. The council’s leadership laid the foundation for an external branch, which would be made of non-NSC Natural Science students who would create regular content for the magazine, providing a more consistent voice to the publication. To spearhead this mission, NSC selected Caleb Ford as the 2021-2022 Internal Chair and Claire Harper as the first External Editor-in-Chief.
As we lead this new era of Catalyst, we are keeping in mind our primary objective: to better represent, entertain, and inform the students of CNS. This comes with a few large-scale changes. First, as mentioned previously, it is no longer required to be a member of NSC to join Catalyst. NSC is an organization whose mission is much broader, and requiring students to commit to those goals presented an unnecessary barrier for those hoping to become involved with Catalyst. Second, in light of this new external membership, we have moved to update the logo and branding of the publication. Previously a derivative of the NSC logo, the new Catalyst brand centers around a young seed, simultaneously representing the youth of our newest iteration and the inspiration we hope to plant within the CNS community.
While these foundational changes are important, a publication is nothing without the writers, editors, illustrators, and social media directors that ultimately ensure that it provides the best content possible. So, if you are interested in joining Catalyst, you can apply here.
We also appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, or concerts you might have with this new direction. Please contact us here with any feedback.
We look forward to continuing to improve Catalyst this next semester and are incredibly excited for what's to come.
Best,
Claire Harper and Caleb Ford (Editors-in-Chief)