Starla Meighan joins Gazette staff

When Starla Meighan graduated from high school and subsequently started college at Troy State University in Alabama, she remembers her picture being in the school newspaper along with a caption about her intended major.

“When I was first out of high school, I got a scholarship to a local college, and I wanted to major in journalism,” she said. “It’s something I’ve always been interested in. I think I just knew I wanted to do something with writing. I wanted to tell stories.”

That plan did not pan out the way she expected.

“Somehow I became a scientist instead,” said Meighan.

She switched her d...