Rachel Swym

Fulbright/University of Manchester Award

Rachel Swym graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English and Creative Writing. During her degree, she gained minors in consumer psychology and environmental humanities, creating the interdisciplinary background that would support her Fulbright.

As her undergraduate capstone, she created lesson plans that shared science communication techniques with high school students and examined whether this knowledge helped relieve their environmental anxiety. At the University of Manchester, Rachel will be studying Science and Health Communication, with a continued interest in the relationship between emotion and how information and misinformation are received. She aims to explore how emotion from artistic work—particularly invoking positive emotions—can create persuasive public science media that dampens misinformation. She is eager to spend her Fulbright studying alongside professionals in a country renowned for its science communicators, examining her area of interest through a transatlantic lens.

A staunch supporter of elective education, Rachel has worked in libraries, museums, and public research, as well as digital security analysis. She is excited to tour Manchester and learn more about its musical, natural, and industrial history. She also hopes to continue her volunteer work in clothing reuse and urban farming.