West Virginia Alpha Brenda Hottle grew up visiting her mom’s family and admired how they were all West Virginia University (WVU) Mountaineers fans. Brenda fell in love with the school and the people, so it was an easy decision to head to Morgantown, West Virginia to attend WVU for college.

At a time when she was faced with questions of what she wanted to study, Brenda’s mom, a nurse in oncology, encouraged her daughter to come listen to a geneticist who was coming in to talk in the office The geneticist’s about his research and career sparked something within Brenda.

Brenda is adopted and her parents had been very open with her about her adoption from the beginning. For many adopted children, there is limited or no family medical history, which can be challenging. Where Brenda found an interest in the field is how she could help others, including other adopted individuals, look at their own hereditary genes to find diseases that might affect them. She wants to help individuals understand their own hereditary genes and hopeful prepare for any issues that may arise. Brenda is now in her junior year studying biology with an emphasis in genetics and applying for an internship at WVU Memorial Hospital to continue her studies.

Brenda is taking full advantage of what the university has for her while continuing to consider the well being of others. Inspired by a personal experience, Brenda participated in WVU MountaineerTHON 2016. Brenda’s best friend from high school lost her sister from leukemia, so she felt connected to the cause. The participants danced for 12 hours – noon to midnight – to raise money for the WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital, the local Children’s Miracle Network hospital. In total, the MountaineerTHON raised over $40,000! Have no doubt, Brenda is signed up to do it again next year!