My name is Paxtyn Merten and I am a senior at Northeastern University in Boston pursuing a degree in journalism and data science. I am currently freelancing for the Boston Business Journal and the Puget Sound Business Journal, where I interned full-time last summer. I have also worked for MuckRock, a nonprofit news organization that works to bring government documents to the public eye, and Open Data Science, a data science blog.
I am a managing editor at The Huntington News, the independent student newspaper of the Northeastern community, where I previously served as editor-in-chief. I am also a regular contributing writer at Storybench, a Northeastern-sponsored online publication that covers tools, tips and takeaways on digital storytelling. In summer 2018 I traveled to Cuba for a month to report abroad with 17 other student journalists, where I completed projects relating to resourceful mechanics and intertwined religions. In summer 2017, I traveled to Greece through a similar program and wrote about the Syrian refugee crisis.
Throughout my journalistic career I have covered breaking news, such as protests and student deaths, as well as more in-depth features and profiles. I have a particular interest in focusing on data journalism in my career. I am originally from a suburb north of Seattle and launched my career in journalism at my high school’s nationally recognized, independent, student-run news publication, The Hawkeye.
Paxtyn Merten 