Bridging Disciplines Programs alumni have built extraordinary professional and academic careers since earning their certificates. Click a BDP alum’s name to learn about his or her BDP experience and career path. If you’re an alum, we’d love to hear what you’re doing! Share your story or make updates.
Stephanie Cree is UX Engineer and Design Thinking Coach with IBM in Austin, TX.
"I most value the support I had from my BDP mentors and professors. They were able to show me that the career path I wanted was achievable."
Courtney Wiesepape is a clinical psychology research position at Indiana University School of Medicine, currently working with a team developing a therapy for individuals diagnosed with first episode psychosis that targets internalized stigma.
"Participating in BDP helped me to begin to think about things from an interdisciplinary approach, which allows me to be thoughtful in my interactions with my team and value different perspectives. "
Acacia Coronado is a corps member with the Report for America/Associated Press statehouse news initiative. Her areas of focus include Texas politics, the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas, the 2020 election, voting, crime, racial injustice, and minority communities.
"The classes that I took through BDP on human rights and social justice broadened my horizons and allowed me to know and understand a diverse array of communities and peoples and their struggles. This gave me a deeper sense of purpose, a desire to explore and listen, and a better idea of the difference I wanted to make through storytelling."
I work for Blue Sprig Pediatrics as the Area Clinical Director. I oversee clinical quality and delivery in clinics that provide Applied Behavior Analysis therapy to individuals with autism. Location: Austin, TX
"I work in multidisciplinary teams regularly. My background knowledge from psychology, human development, and special education helps me to connect with professionals from those fields."
I am a Research Project Manager for The University of Texas Medical Branch Behavioral Health and Research where I conduct the evaluation of the Causeway Galveston project. I also earned an MPH in Epidemiology from the UT Health Science Center at Houston. Location: Galveston, TX
"Interdisciplinary education prepared me for my current job by teaching me to understand various perspectives for approaching problems and situations."
I am earning an MPH at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Location: Boston, MA
"The courses I took for BDP allowed me to see the complexities of social and health inequities. I realized that simply wanting to make a change isn't enough; you have to understand the context of the issues you want to address."
I'm in the Army Reserves working as an Attorney-Advisor for the National Congressional Commission on Military Aviation Safety. Location: Arlington, VA
"To date, I have not met anyone else who received such a vibrant education, and I truly believe the cumulative effects of multi-tiered and functional interdisciplinary studies cannot be overstated."
I work for Zynga as a Producer where I do project and product management for mobile games. Location: Austin, TX
"The BDP experience allowed me to explore game development through the lenses of Computer Science and Fine Arts as well as RTF, which encouraged my interest in the industry and prepared me for a role where I work with a variety of interdisciplinary specialists."
I work at New Knowledge as a Senior Product Manager. New Knowledge is an information integrity company. We help detect and mitigate disinformation and inauthentic behavior online. As a Product Manager, I help shape our solution and work with data scientists and engineers to shape our detection algorithms. Location: Austin, TX
"Being able to think in a cross-disciplinary manner truly expands your ability to see problems from different perspectives and allows you to create and develop unique solutions that just one discipline couldn't identify. This cross-disciplinary thinking opens you up in a way that employers value."
I am an Associate in Technology, Innovation, and Strategic Alliances for Waste Management Sustainability Services. I do Sustainability Consulting, including research and vetting of new technologies and innovations and strategic partnerships for our customers. Location: Houston, TX
"The interdisciplinary nature of the BDPs helped me understand how to attack modern environmental issues from various angles and viewpoints to determine the best solution."