The Bridge Initiative for Science and Technology Policy, Leadership, and Communications began its Graduate Fellows Program in 2021 a year after the Bridge Initiative was first created.
One of the first fellows was Rachel Hostetler, a Ph.D. candidate in Neuroscience at West Virginia University. Rachel was also one of the first volunteers for the Bridge Initiative and has been with us since the beginning. Recently, Rachel completed her doctoral research and will soon be moving across the country to Seattle for her new job as Outreach Scientist for the Allen Institute.
“I think Bridge was very helpful to get a taste of what it's like to experience teamwork, that doesn’t solely have your name on it. You're representing something larger than yourself,” said Rachel.
In her time with the Bridge Initiative, Rachel contributed to the “Waters of West Virginia” and “Carbon Dioxide Removal” policymaker guides.
“In your PhD, you're kind of siloed into your area of research,” said Rachel, “I liked the idea of learning from others in different research areas and hearing their perspectives in this type of interdisciplinary work”
Rachel described her work with the Bridge Initiative as being a great benefit for her career development. Through the Bridge Initiative, she was able to receive training and professional development in areas that are not typically offered in a STEM PhD program. Rachel had the opportunity to take science policy analysis classes, and she developed writing and communication skills for working with different types of audiences. Rachel also participated in stakeholder engagement during Bridge Initiative’s policymaker guide processes, a skill that she will be applying a lot in her new position with the Allen Institute.
During her time as a Bridge Graduate Fellow, she interacted with federal policymakers and learned firsthand the importance of making technical scientific research accessible and understandable to everyone.
“Much of our research relies on federal funding — it is critical for policymakers to understand what type of research is being conducted at WVU, why it’s being done, why it should continue, and how it benefits the people of West Virginia,” said Rachel
She was able to expand her knowledge into fields such as environmental policy which helped her to become a well-rounded researcher. She credited the Bridge Initiative with giving her opportunities to expand her network and allow her to make connections across the university and the country which she can continue to work with in her future career.
With the completion of her doctorate, Rachel will be joining the Allen Institute, a nonprofit research institute. She will be joining their team as an outreach scientist and her position will focus on making the institute’s neuroscience resources more accessible to other scientists and the general public.
During her interview process, Rachel believed her experience with the Bridge Initiative was valuable as it set her apart from the other candidates.
“They were interested in someone with a PhD in neuroscience, but who also had science communication or outreach experience,” said Rachel, “So I highlighted the collaborative work that I did with Bridge, showing that I do have experience working with scientists from other fields and backgrounds. Through Bridge, I also learned the importance of stakeholder outreach and integrating feedback from different groups to improve your project. These experiences will help prepare me for my new position.”
It has been a pleasure having Rachel a part of the Bridge Initiative. We are excited about what her future holds for her and wish her the best of luck in her upcoming move!