Erin Bartels

College Scholar of Political Science: Cum Laude

Exploring the Use of Forecasting Models in Predicting the Presidential Nominee: The 2020 Democratic Primary

Thesis Advisor: Andrew Dowdle

 

 

 

 

Hailey Collett

Departmental Scholar of Political Science: Magna Cum Laude

The Expert Knowledge Gap: an Analysis of Expert Knowledge, News Media, and Public Discourse in Public Policy

Thesis Advisor: William Schreckhise

 

 

 

Anna Cunningham

College Scholar of Political Science: Magna Cum Laude

Southern Realignment: A Closer Look at Changes in Party Control

Thesis Advisor: Janine Parry

“Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.”-Ranier Maria Rilke. College is a time full of celebration and disappointment; laughter and tears. But if there’s anything that I could share about my time here, it’s that I would not trade any of my experience for the world. As I reminisce on my four years in the Fulbright Honors Program, I am reminded most of the people that have supported me, encouraged me, and uplifted me through good times and bad. I do not think of tears shed or disappointments. I only think of the good and of the people who stood by me when times were tough. I will forever miss the feeling I had knowing I would see these precious friends and mentors day in and day out.

 

Jordan Farris

Departmental Scholar of Political Science: Magna Cum Laude

Race, Police Violence, and Justice

Thesis Advisor: Xavier Medina Vidal

“I am a person who believes in asking questions, in not conforming for the sake of conforming. I am deeply dissatisfied – about so many things, about injustice, about the way the world works – and in some ways, my dissatisfaction drives my storytelling.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 

Samuel Harper

College Scholar of Political Science: Magna Cum Laude

The Effect of Signing Ballot Petitions on Turnout

Thesis Advisor: Janine Parry

“Everyone grows by slow degrees.” -John Wesley. It’s been my experience that many honors students, myself included, expect themselves to be immediate experts and are disappointed when we find out we try for the first time and fail. The best thing I’ve ever been taught is that learning a skill is incremental, something I think is well summarized by the quote.

 

Mackenzie Hill

College Scholar of Political Science: Cum Laude

A Public’s Reaction to Obergefell v. Hodges (2015): An Analysis of State Level Legislation as Signs of Subsequent Opposition

Thesis Advisor: Angie Maxwell

The best advice I received as an undergraduate was although grades and academics seem like the end all part of my college experience, that I should also take time to enjoy myself, really live in the present, and appreciate what was happening right before me.

 

Addison Horsey

College Scholar of Political Science: Magna Cum Laude

The Misinterpretation of the Gender Gap by the Media, 1980-1984

Thesis Advisor: Angie Maxwell

 

 

 

 

 

 

Erin Rambo

College Scholar of Political Science: Magna Cum Laude

Women’s Underrepresentation and Underfunding in the U.S. House: The Fight for Open Seats

Thesis Advisor: Karen Sebold

 

Kate Rideout

College Scholar of Political Science: Cum Laude

How Breakable is the Political Glass Ceiling? An Examination of the Impact of the Equal Rights Amendment in the Election of Women to the United States House of Representatives

Thesis Advisor: Angie Maxwell

 

Kianna Sarvestani

Departmental Scholar of Political Science: Magna Cum Laude

The Effect Voter Disenfranchisement Has on Jury Source List 

Thesis Advisor: Xavier Medina Vidal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Esmerelda Verdin Gomez

College Scholar of Political Science: Summa Cum Laude

What Are You? An Examination of Multiracial Latinos and Linked Fate

Thesis Advisor: Xavier Medina Vidal

Take advantage of all that the Honors College has to offer- from mentorship to free food to special classes. You’ll meet some pretty great people and have some new experiences.

 

 

 

Ashley Wicks

Departmental Scholar of Political Science: Cum Laude

In God We Trust: The Use of the Word God in Republican Presidential Speeches

Thesis Advisor: Angie Maxwell

Take advantage of every opportunity given! They will all come in handy at one time or another.

 

 

Conner Rainey

Departmental Scholar of Political Science: Cum Laude

Reshaping the Local Food systems in France and England through the Revitalization of Organic Farms

Thesis Advisor: Jared Phillips