The Bridge Initiative for Science and Technology Policy, Leadership, and Communications is fortunate to have WVU students who contribute to its activities. One of these is Sean Mullaney, a WVU law student, who began working in the summer of 2023 and will continue until the end of the academic year in 2024.
Mullaney is able to draw on his expertise from both his undergraduate background in science and accounting from Frostburg State University as well as his current studies as a law student. Mullaney’s background contributes a unique perspective to his work researching policies related to converting former minelands to sustainable lands. This “Former minelands to sustainable lands” project is part of the Appalachian Climate Technology (ACT Now) coalition, funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Build Back Better regional challenge.
Through his research, Mullaney is developing case studies to support the Bridge Initiative’s portion of the ACT Now project, which will make recommendations on West Virginia policy shifts to create favorable regulatory conditions for sustainable mineland projects to flourish. In addition to his educational background, Mullaney is able to provide insights from what he learned about community development from his parent’s occupation as independent contractors.
“I wanted to do something that was bettering the communities, rather than law firm work,” said Mullaney. That goal, along with a desire to improve his research and writing skills, led him to apply for the Bridge Initiative law school student position.
Working on a team that consists of a variety of experienced scientists and engineers, Mullaney brings a unique perspective with his background in law and accounting. Without a science degree background, Mullaney represents the average citizen who may need more explanation to understand the complex world of science and technology policy.
“Especially in West Virginia, with it being a part-time legislature, you might have somebody who's a nurse, or a bus driver, or a doctor, or a mechanic who's in the legislature who might know nothing about whatever topic we're discussing,” said Mullaney. By translating his work for those common individuals, he believes he is learning valuable communication skills that will serve his long-term career goals. “The pinnacle of intelligence is being able to articulate yourself through written rather than spoken word,” said Mullaney.
In addition, Mullaney has learned how to take large amounts of information and condense it into science and technology notes, skills he is sure he will later use in his law career. “We take 25 cases and use one sentence from each one and put them together to create kind of a simplified version of our argument,” said Mullaney, “It has been advantageous, especially under the mentorship of Debbie Stine and Brooke Eastman, and Joan Centrella’s leadership, to learn how to research things and write those summarized studies.”
Sean is excited to continue his work with the Bridge Initiative and looks forward to continuing to hone his research skills.
“Being able to work with such a team that's so intelligent, and diverse in background is really incredible. It forces you to be better.”