Where Are They Now? Featuring: Samantha Merritt
We’re interviewing alumni who graduated from York College of Pennsylvania to see “where they are now.” Today’s interview is with Samantha Merritt, who attended York College from 2007–2011 and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology. Since then, she spent several years as a research assistant at Johns Hopkins Behavioral Pharmacology Unit. From there, she moved on to become a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Head and Neck Cancer Center of GBMC. Currently, she works full-time running an online business, Sugar Spun Run, where she has shared hundreds of original dessert recipes since 2012.
You attended York College of Pennsylvania from 2008–2011, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a 3.75 GPA. In addition, you were a member of the major-specific honor society, Psi Chi. That being said, could you please provide us with some information regarding your experience at college? How did you manage to graduate with a four-year degree in the course of three years? When did you become involved with Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology? Are there any recommendations that you have for students that are intending to graduate early while maintaining a high GPA and being involved on campus?
I actually attended from 2007–2011, but didn’t declare my Psychology major until 2008. I became involved in Psi Chi I believe my sophomore year and the following year became Vice President of the society, I was grateful to be a part of it.
I did take a lot of credits each year to graduate with a major in Psychology and a minor in Philosophy while working around 30 hours a week, so it was definitely a challenge. My biggest recommendation would be to stay determined — know what your goal is and put your head down and put in the work until you meet it. Oh, and if a class that you need is full, contact your professor and be persistent.
The Bob Hoffman Student Writing Contest sponsored by the Bob Hoffman Foundation is a creative writing contest that awards students for poetry, fiction, short story, creative nonfiction, playwriting, and screenwriting. As a 2010 winner of the Bob Hoffman Student Writing Contest Award, what can you tell us about your process in creating a piece for this contest? What advice can you give students who aspire to be a recipient of this award?
I won the poetry portion of the contest. I first wrote that poem as part of some homework for my Creative Writing class, but continued to work on it long after the class was finished. I think the fact that it started with some vague guidelines really helped me… I seem to be my most creative when I have some parameters, and it at least helps shake some of that immobilizing feeling of not knowing where to begin.
I definitely recommend experimenting with different writing prompts. Don’t be afraid to try out different styles of writing, either. The poem that I wrote was a sestina, which is a style that seems really restrictive at first, but I never felt more accomplished than I did after cracking the code and finishing it.
Can you explain your reference to a seven-year career in research? What was your job during this time and your responsibilities? Were you able to see a final outcome of your research that you conducted over all those years?
Before graduating, I started a job as a research assistant at Johns Hopkins Behavioral Pharmacology Unit. I worked in the hallucinogen department, which was exactly as fascinating as it sounds. Primarily I would run sessions with cancer patients, which involved being with them as they were administered psilocybin (the psychedelic component found in “shrooms”) and guiding them through their “sessions”. This was done to study whether psilocybin could help decrease anxiety and depression in cancer patients, and the results were pretty remarkable.
I left Hopkins after several years to work at the Head and Neck Cancer Center of GBMC, where I worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator and facilitated all of the research studies for my department for 4 years before leaving this year.
I’ve had my hands in dozens of research studies, and have been able to see the outcomes of many research projects. I’ve also been listed as an author on some published manuscripts. It was definitely a rewarding experience.
For more than five years, you have been managing your own recipe website, Sugar Spun Run, which is dedicated to providing readers with a large number of original dessert recipes. Why did you initially decide to create Sugar Spun Run? How has it evolved since its initial creation in 2012? What are your future goals for the website?
I started the website in 2012 after learning about other creative entrepreneurs who were making a living online by doing fun things that they were passionate about. I decided I wanted to do this, too, and knew that I wanted to share my recipes with the world.
Unfortunately, I didn’t really take the website seriously until 2015. That’s when I decided I was going to throw myself fully into the website and make something of it, and so I put in the work (practically every second of my spare time) and it really paid off. My website went from seeing maybe two people each day (my parents) to now getting tens of thousands of visitors each day. The fact that this many people trust my recipes is incredible, and is something I take very seriously.
In the future, I want improve on my video skills and I intend to share even more recipes with my readers. I want to be the most trusted sources for from-scratch dessert recipes. I’ve also had a lot of readers ask me to write a cookbook, so I think that is definitely somewhere in my future, too.
Presently, you have a rather significant social media following — on Facebook, for example, nearly 200,000 users like and/or follow your Page — emphasizing how successful your website has become. What are the challenges of maintaining both the website and its associated social media platforms?
Social media is a beast, but it is so necessary to be able to engage with your audience on many different platforms.
Creating and curating content for my social media is time intensive, and fortunately my husband has stepped up to help me significantly with curating and scheduling. Also, different types of social media favor different types of content — Facebook loves video, so this year I started creating video. It’s paid off in a big way and some of my videos have garnered millions upon millions of views, but they take a lot of time to create, especially since I produce them by myself.
Really knowing your audience and finding the time to get everything done is the biggest challenge.
What role has your college education taken in the process of creating your own website? Did this impact your idea to create the Sugar Spun Run Scholarship?
I learned the importance of having a strong drive in order to get things done, and I also learned a lot about how to find the information that you need to figure out things on your own. I definitely appreciate that and would say it helped me learn the skills that I needed to create my own website. Even though I’m not technically “using” my degree any longer, I’m still grateful for everything that I learned and the great professors that I had at YCP.
My experience did influence the creation of the Sugar Spun Run Scholarship, I wanted to be able to help others afford to go to college. I just held the first scholarship competition this year and am excited to continue it annually.
What sparked your interest in baking and developing your own recipes? Can you point out your main motivation for taking the jump and having the courage to pursue a hobby so diligently, to turn it into a career?
Baking has always been a stress reliever and a creative outlet for me. My mom got me interested in baking things from scratch at a young age. As I got older, I was constantly trying out new recipes, and this is how I de-stressed during finals time during college.
I knew shortly after getting my first full-time job that what I really wanted was the opportunity to work for myself and have complete control over my lifestyle and income. While my last two jobs were both wonderful, each day I’d come home worn out by the grind and quickly realized I did not want to spend 8+ hours a day working for someone else… realizing that was some serious motivation.
I worked on Sugar Spun Run basically non-stop — every single evening and weekend — for over two years before making the jump, and even then I moved cautiously and made sure that I had more than replaced my full-time research income before handing in my two weeks notice to blog full time. It’s definitely a dream job, and while it totally sounds cheesy, it’s convinced me that anyone can accomplish anything they set their mind to, so long as they’re willing to put in the work.
If you’d like to keep up with Samantha Merritt, follow her on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sugarspunrun/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sugarspunrun
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sugarspun_sam/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sugarspunrun/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-merritt-7310b4129