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Awards & Honors Ceremony 2020

Awards & Honors Ceremony 2020

TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2020 | 11:00 AM – 12:30PM

Please join the Department of Political Science and their Faculty for a session celebrating the exemplary work and outstanding achievements of our graduating Majors and Minors in the Class of 2020.

Students graduating with Honors will present their thesis projects, departmental awards will be presented to recipients, and faculty will recognize our students as they embark on the next stage of their journey. 

 

Ceremony Program

(times are approximate)

 

11:00am

Welcome Remarks

 

Stephen C. Nelson

Director of the Honors Program and
Associate Professor Professor of Political Science

 

11:10am

Presentation of the Honors Thesis Projects

Jonathan Goldberg
Game of Drones:
The Effect of Drone Strikes on Terrorists’ Tactical Diversity
Advised by Professor William Reno
Elissa Gray
Sexual Violence Survivorship and Victim Blaming
in the Congressional Context
Advised by Professor Traci Burch
Patrick Ryan
Guns and Gridlock:
Examining the NRA’s Legislative Influence in Congress
Advised by Assistant Professor Mary McGrath
Dillon Saks
“To Preserve Kurdish Autonomy:”
The United States, the Kurds, and Intervention Against Ethnic Replacement, 1967-1979
Advised by Professor Galya Ben-Arieh
Natalie Sands
Inequity in Accommodations:
Minimizing Bias in Higher Education Disability Services
Advised by Professor James Druckman 
 

12:00pm

Recognition of Pi Sigma Alpha and Phi Beta Kappa

Andrew Roberts

Associate Chair of Political Science
Associate Professor of Political Science

 

12:10pm

Conferral of Departmental Awards

Wendy Pearlman

Director of Undergraduate Studies
Professor of Political Science

Kenneth F. Janda Prize for Distinguished Honors Thesis in Political Science
Named in recognition of his 41-year career in the Political Science department and the hundreds of Northwestern graduates he advised, the Kenneth F. Janda Prize is awarded for the best undergraduate honors thesis. The winner is selected by the Honors Committee and is based on the nominations and feedback received from the honors thesis readers.
Natalie Sands 

Inequity in Accommodations:
Minimizing Bias in Higher Education Disability Services
Advised by Professor James Druckman 

Jonathan Goldberg (Honorable Mention)

Game of Drones:
The Effect of Drone Strikes on Terrorists’ Tactical Diversity
Advised by Professor William Reno

William M. McGovern Award for Academic Excellence, Leadership, and Citizenship
Named for his devotion to his students and for making significant strides to enhance academic life in the Political Science department, the William M. McGovern Prize is awarded to outstanding graduating political science majors who have demonstrated excellence in scholarship, leadership, and University citizenship.
Elissa Gray

Elissa graduates with majors in Political Science and Journalism, and a minor in Gender & Sexuality Studies. During her time at Northwestern, Elissa held leadership positions with Campus Kitchens, Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, and SHAPE (Sexual Health and Assault Peer Educators). Elissa is a Truman Scholar and is attending U.C. Berkeley Law in the fall.

Henry Molnar (Honorable Mention)

Henry graduates with majors in Political Science, History, and International Studies. During his time at Northwestern, Henry served as a Senator, Parliamentarian, and Chief of Staff for Northwestern’s Associated Student Government. As Chief of Staff, he was able to help leas ASG’s COVID-19 response and led financial reform efforts to begin a precedent of donating leftover ASG finances towards campus-wide charitable initiatives like, Books for Cats.

R. Barry Farrell Prize for Academic Achievement in Political Science
Named for his outstanding commitment to undergraduate students both within and beyond the classroom, the R. Barry Farrell Prize for Academic Achievement in Political Science, a committee of faculty recognizes student(s) for the best-written undergraduate research seminar paper.
Winner: Grant Glazebrook

Grant receives this award for his paper “Trains to Opportunity or Trains to Nowhere? Assessing the Impact of Suburban Racial Attitudes on Public Transit’s Potential to Address Inner-City Concentrated Poverty,” which he wrote for Professor Reuel Rogers’ research seminar, Racial Politics in American Cities.

Frank N. & Lee L. Corbin Prize Political Science Nominee
Each year Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences awards the Frank N. & Lee L. Corbin Prize to seniors with outstanding academic records who plan to attend graduate or professional school. While not all students who are nominated by their department will receive an award at the College level, to be selected as a nominee is an honor in and of itself.
Political Science Nominee: Grant Glazebrook

Grant is graduating with a major in Political Science and a minor in Legal Studies. Grant will attend Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law in the fall. Weinberg College will announce the winner of the Corbin Prize soon but we’re proud to recognize Grant as the Political Science Department’s nominee.

Senior Marshal
The department chooses one graduating senior to be the standard-bearer at the WCAS convocation. The student who is chosen to be Senior Marshal is nominated by the Director of Undergraduate Studies, the Director of Honors, or by a member of the Undergraduate Advising Committee.
Mary Pedraza

Mary graduated in Fall 2019 with majors in Political Science and International Studies. Mary has already started pursuing her Master’s degree in Library and Information Science. While at Northwestern, Mary served on the Political Science Department’s Undergraduate Council, in the Northwestern University "Wildcat" Marching Band, Sigma Alpha Iota music fraternity, and was a Registrarial Intern at the Block Museum of Art. 

 

12:20pm

Closing Remarks

William Reno

Chair of the Department of Political Science
Professor of Political Science

 

 

Distinguished Accomplishments

 

\   Research Assistants & Farrell Fellows  \
Dominic Bayer Dorothy Calba Matthew Casler
Samuel Cole James Crisafulli Marco Espino
Claudia Garín Jillian Gilburne Lydia Hartman
Leilani Jones Netta Keesom Ahmad Keshk
Daniel Miller Henry Molnar Rachael Packard
Mitchell Price Uzair Qadir Zachary Ryan
Natalie Sands Ariel Sheffey Xiaohua Su
Jane Yun Xiangyun Zhang
 
\    Farrell Experiential Learning & Ginsberg Research Grant Recipients  \
Matthew Casler Claudia Garín Asa Hiken
Leilani Jones Elisabeth Phillips Patrick Ryan
Natalie Sands Eliana Scobey Elisabeth Severini

  

\    Certificate of Achievement in Quantative Skills  \
Jonathan Goldberg  Sarah Letscher

 

\    Phi Beta Kappa  \
Dominic Balestrieri-Fox Dominic Bayer* Samuel Cole
James Crisafulli Grant Glazebrook Mary Hawley
Ahmad Keshk Henry Molnar Jonathan Murray
Alexander Neumann Carter Rothman

*indicates named as a Junior.

 

 

\    Pi Sigma Alpha   \
Dominic Bayer Samuel Cole Millie Culbertson
Grant Glazebrook Jonathan Goldberg Jacob Gordon
Jayne Gotham Elissa Gray Dylan Gresik
Lydia Hartman Shiyue Kang Netta Keesom
Dylan Kennedy Ahmad Keshk Jeremy Lamstein
Mia Lennon Sarah Letscher Henry Mohn
Jonathan Murray Jack O'Dea Cameron Peters
Elisabeth Phillips Davis Rich Carter Rothman
Elisabeth Severini Noah Spector Jacquelyn Tepper
Caroline Werner Jane Yun Xiangyun Zhang

 

\   Majors  \
Jonathan Aguiar Anyah Akanni Katya Amelung
Nicole Antony Dominic Balestrieri-Fox Alexis Barber
Jane Emma Barnett* Dominic Bayer Michelle Beglin*
Eric Benes Ryan Borgdorff* Dorothy Calba
Gabrielle Cano* Matthew Casler* Aahana Chatterjee
Samuel Cole James Crisafulli Millie Culbertson
Robert D'Alessandro Heaven Davis Saar de Breij
Solis Doyle Romie Drori Jonah Dylan*
Jaime El Koury* McKenzie Ellis Mary Erb
JuliaInes Esparza* Marco Espino Holden Faversham
Madeleine Fernando* Aidan Flanigan Thomas Fredericks
Claudia Garín John Girmscheid* Grant Glazebrook
Jonathan Goldberg Nathan Gonzales Jayne Gotham
Elissa Gray* Dylan Gresik* Brian Hannah
Margaret Harden* Lydia Hartman* Mary Hawley*
Asa Hiken Yang Hu Akshay Jain*
Mila Jasper* Leilani Jones* Jacob Jordan*
Shiyue Kang Kristina Karisch* Netta Keesom
Dylan Kennedy* Ahmad Keshk Clarence Kung
David Kwon Jeremy Lamstein* Marco Laudati
Mia Lennon* Sarah Letscher Leana Lindsay
Trevor Lystad* Margaret Maddox Olivia Martins
Daniel Miller Lukas Miller Henry Mohn
Henry Molnar Sydney Monroe Nirmal Mulaikal*
Jonathan Murray* Alexander Neumann Jack O'Dea*
Alejandra Ortiz Anguiano Rachael Packard* Changin Park*
Anne Parker Dillan Patel Mary Pedraza
Cameron Peters* Elisabeth Phillips Mahima Pirani
Braden Pomerantz* Mitchell Price* Uzair Qadir
Matthew Reay* Jazmine Reyes* Davis Rich*
Eleanor Roeder* Raul Rosenfeld* Carter Rothman
Haralambos Roumeliotis Patrick Ryan Zachary Ryan
Dillon Saks* Natalie Sands Eliana Scobey*
Elisabeth Severini* Claudia Sierra Noah Spector
Olivia Stoeckel Foster Stubbs* Xiaohua Su
Aditya Tanjore Jacquelyn Tepper* Kerrie Vila*
Stender Von Oehsen* William Wanberg Jason Weber
Joseph Weideman Caroline Werner* Kevin Wilemski*
Daniel Witte* Jane Yun Xiangyun Zhang*

* indicates Dual Majors

 
 
\   Minors  \
Sinan Chen Paola de Varona Emily Dial
Jennifer Donovan Henry Ettinger Michael Ferro
Brooke Fowler Emmanuelle Gers Jillian Gilburne
Bridget Gonzalez Aguirre Jacob Gordon Talia Hendel
Paige Hennion Emily Hoecker Eliza Kang
Min Kim Hayley Krolik Isaac LaLuzerne
Morgan Lewis Taylor Nides Caroline O'Connell
Maya Pearson Alan Perez Kevin Rodriguez
Linda Sandor Somil Sanghvi Samantha Schmaier
Ariel Sheffey Meilynn Shi Arzu Singh
Michael Snider Sydney Stone Gabrielle Struik
Changfu Sun Tiara Swartz Julia Tesmond
Yuqiu Wang Lindsay Wilson Hillary Wolff
Zachary Zuzelo Jared Zvonar