Bridget Reheard is one of the three Penn Staters selected as Goldwater Scholars for 2024-25. Goldwater Scholars are selected for their potential as leaders in the fields of natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering. About 5,000 students from across the U.S. applied for one of the 438 awarded scholarships available in 2024.
For the past three years, Reheard, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has been researching the implications of brines from Marcellus Shale fracking on stream ecosystems. She is pursuing a double major in geosciences and wildlife and fisheries science. Reheard is both a Schreyer and Millennium Scholar.
“I am studying how potential releases of these hypersaline brines may affect aquatic benthic macroinvertebrate—think insects, crustaceans, etc. that live on the stream bottom—and fish communities in Sproul and Tiadaghton state forests here in Pennsylvania,” Reheard said.
Previously, she conducted research with the Duke University Marine Lab to evaluate changes to genes in the Atlantic killifish in response to the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Atlantic Wood Industries Superfund site along the Elizabeth River in Virginia. Reheard explained that changes to certain genes that regulate the metabolism of PAHs can be beneficial since the normal breakdown of these substances can result in DNA adducts and mutations that may reduce survivorship. This past summer, she worked on a project with the NOAA Hollings Marine Laboratry in Charleston, South Carolina, to experiment on the toxicity of different concentrations and mixtures of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances on larval sheepshead minnow survivorship and gene regulation.
“Being involved in undergraduate research has solidified my interest in aquatic toxicology and genetics and has greatly prepared me for attaining higher education,” Reheard said. “I aim to earn a Ph.D., so having the background and knowledge that I do and having been able to identify a field that matters a lot to me will prove to be pivotal as I search for programs that match my interests and goals.”
Reheard said she faced financial difficulties as she finished high school and entered college, working multiple jobs and tutoring to make ends meet. Earning a Goldwater Scholarship was a special moment, she said.
“I will always be grateful to the Millennium Scholars Program and the Schreyer Honors College for elevating me from poverty conditions to a college education with their financial and academic support,” Reheard said. “I knew that having the opportunity to go to college with all the obstacles I faced early in my life meant that I had to do everything in my power to make the most of it.”
Reheard has served in multiple officer positions of the Penn State chapter of the Wildlife Society. The organization holds a lot of meaning for her, she said, as it provided a way to engage students interested in wildlife careers from a professional and hands-on perspective. She is also part of the American Women in Geosciences and Geosciences Club, the Gamma Sigma Delta Honors Society, and Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society. She said she also enjoys playing soccer with the Centre Soccer Association.