I declared a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in September 2017 after a year of deliberation. Through talking with several faculty members and students of the Davidson Political Science Department, I realized that Political Science combines nearly all my passions and emphasizes three of my interests: communications, civil discourse, and journalism. In May 2020, I was inducted into Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society.
Studying political science engaged my curiosity in the field of communications in many ways, such as through the analysis of public speaking. The field acknowledges the power of communication on world events. I also furthered my computer science and mathematics skills by using statistics and statistics languages to help prove political science theories.
I researched polarization and deliberation in North Carolina with one of my professors, Dr. Graham Bullock. As an independent study, I spent an average of 10 hours a week examining how polarization and deliberation have changed in North Carolina's recent history.
During the summer of 2018, I was also a participant in Davidson in Washington, an internship and seminar program in Washington, DC. I served as the Press Fellow for the Office of Congresswoman Alma Adams and took a seminar program on Partisanship and Polarization in American Politics.
As the Press Fellow, I had duties beyond those of a regular congressional internship. In addition to normal Congressional Intern duties like answering the phone, responding to constituents, giving tours of the Capitol, conducting research, and greeting guests, I also compiled press clips, drafted media advisories and press releases, photographed meetings, created social media posts, worked on graphic design projects, and copy edited for other members of the press staff.