“My name is Meg Stalter I’m 5’7 I’m living in LA and a fun fact about me is something bad happened to my cousin.”

As made evident by her Twitter profile, my favorite comedian, Megan (“Meg”) Stalter, knows how to make an introduction.  Stalter is best known (as far as I know) for her role in the HBO comedy “Hacks,” in which she plays Kayla (whoever that is). 

 I do not have a Twitter account and I have never seen the show.  While we are talking about me, I will explain that I do not really watch TV, with the one exception of West Wing.  

Since we are still talking about me, you should know that I fibbed.  There are two exceptions.  The other one is Grantchester, a Masterpiece Mystery about a hot priest who solves crime (but that was sort of a given, no?).  

I share Stalter’s bio for a few reasons.  For starters, it makes me smile, and sharing a smile is a tried-and-true way to score a friend (cha-ching!).  

Meg Stalter once again proved her knack for making a first impression at her Emmy’s debut

On top of that, it is a good example of someone who knows how to make a first impression.  I expect to have made a great impression by the time I finish this, but to ensure things got started on the right foot, hedging my bets if you will, I thought it best to leave the preamble to someone at the top of the trade.

Stalter’s bio also proves a simple point; it is not merely what you say that counts, but how you say it.  

I am something of a sub-par reader.  I love to read, it is just not my biggest strength (doesn’t mean it can’t be (growth mindset)! Just facing today’s facts).  I don’t think I read enough as a child, so now I am slow and I usually fall asleep.  

But I get by.  I power through my class readings, I keep a book on my bedside table, and I get my news through the radio (that and two free tickets to the Hoppin’ John’s Fiddler’s Convention–it pays to be tuned into WUNC on Saturday nights at 10. Cha-ching!).  

This relationship with reading influences my writing style.  When I write, I try to keep my readers awake. Not with what I write — I have full faith in the topic at hand’s capacity to speak for itself — but with the way I write it.

My past experience writing for a published paper was in high school, where I spent four years as co-editor of the “Hustle and Bustle” page. I authored a satirical advice column in which troubled high schoolers (me) could send their personal woes to someone who would publish them for the whole school to read (also me).  I like writing as a secondary form of chatting.   

My senior year, I retitled my column “Dear Addy,” after the well-known advice column “Dear Abby.”

And so it is with this laudable writing background that I report to you on the groundbreaking discoveries from one of the top research universities in the U.S.

Why write for a research blog?  Research is interesting. Research makes the world go round. Just ask a freshman. They all came here for the “research opportunities,” as did all the other freshmen at all the other universities.  

Before I sign off, I will let you know where you might catch me in my free time.  This is a key element of the standard student bio, and I am prone to severe FOMO, so let me get right to it.  

I am a sophomore from Hickory, North Carolina hoping to major in Public Policy and minor in Math. In my free time you might catch me listening to NPR, jogging, potting, singing to myself, making a smoothie, telling people about my smoothie, spamming my contacts for an ice cream date, or for the not-so-lucky, trying my best at Appalachian-style fiddle.

By Addie Geitner, Class of 2025