Alex Harkess, PhD, mentors BRIDGES fellow Israel Scott
“HudsonAlpha is really a center for a lot of diverse kinds of research, so it allowed me to explore what avenue I wanted to pursue within plant genetics,” says Caroline Bendickson, a UAH undergraduate student who has trained in both Dr. Alex Harkess and Dr. Rick Myers’ labs. “The mentors in my lab have shown me my strengths within this field, and they’ve empowered me to pursue opportunities like presenting at confer- ences, writing grants, and writing a manuscript as an undergraduate, which I would never have dreamed of at this stage of my educational career.” The National Science Foundation-funded program Boosting Retention, Interest, and Diversity through Guided Experiences in STEM (BRIDGES) offers a transformative laboratory experience for recent col- lege graduates impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. HudsonAlpha’s HBCU Co-Op internships, offered in partnership with Alabama’s minority-serving institutions and the Alabama Office of Minority Affairs (AOMA), provide students enrolled in these institutions with invaluable hands-on experience in STEM. Interns spend up to 12 months working at HudsonAlpha under the mentorship and guidance of the Institute’s STEM professionals. “This has been a great experience that you can’t find in the classroom,” says Terriron Fields, an AOMA intern from Alabama A&M University. “It’s a great opportunity for me to develop, grow, and learn skills I can add to my resume while getting experience around IT professionals.”
This has been a great experience that you can’t find in the classroom. It’s a great opportunity for me to develop, grow, and learn skills I can add to my resume while getting experience around IT professionals.
—Terriron Fields an AOMA intern from Alabama A&M University
HUDSONALPHA INSTITUTE FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY
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