March 2026
Updates from the Program Director
It’s been another excellent year for past and present members of the Social Science Scholars Program. In this update, I’ll begin by acknowledging Samyuktha Iyer’s many contributions to the Scholars Program as she moves onto the next stage of her career. I’ll also welcome Dr. Karen Holt to the role of Assistant Director of the program. Then I’ll briefly describe what our recently graduated students are now doing, introduce the twelfth Scholars cohort, mention some of the superb student achievements of the last several months, and tell you about last summer’s study abroad trip to the UK. I’ll also highlight the rebooted Alumni Mentorship Program, as well as a current Social Science Scholar and one who graduated from MSU last year. As always, I’d like to express my deep appreciation to all the Spartans - alumni, students, faculty, and administrators - who enable this unique program to thrive. We cherish the opportunity to involve college alumni in what we do and are profoundly grateful for opportunities to allow graduated Scholars to talk to other Spartan alumni about their experiences (as we did in Denver last fall thanks to the generosity of our hosts, John and Marcia Van Eden). If you’d like to get involved, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.
Scholars coming and going
Last September we welcomed our twelfth Scholars cohort to campus. Our new class is as diverse, accomplished, and delightful as its predecessors. Half of the new Scholars are from Michigan, two from Illinois, and one apiece from Texas, Florida, Connecticut, India and Indonesia. This year, nine Scholars are Psychology majors, four are doing Political Science, two Economics, two History, one Geography and one Criminal Justice. We’re very excited to get to know them and help nurture their abilities over the coming years.
We also said a lot of goodbyes to graduating Scholars. I don’t have space to tell you about all of their varied endeavors at MSU, so here’s a quick summary of what they’re doing next.
Of those who graduated in spring of 2025, several are going on to advanced degrees: a Double Master's in Social Work/Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan, a Master of Laws at Queen’s University Belfast, a PhD in African American and African Studies at The Ohio State University, a Masters at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, a PhD in Economics at the University of California San Diego, a Masters in Data Science at the University of Virginia, a Masters of Public Administration at American University, and a Psychology pre-doc position at MSU prior to a Psychology PhD program. Others are heading for careers in finance or business: as an analyst at Ally Bank in Charlotte North Carolina, as an Investment Team Lead with a Michigan wealth management firm, in a finance position for a global technology company in India, and as a Hotel Real Estate Appraiser with Hotel Valuation Services in Boston. Other Scholars are embarking on careers in politics, law, or policy: as a Cleveland Foundation Public Service Fellow working to regenerate local communities and as a Constituent Services Aide to Michigan Senate’s Assistant Majority Leader, Darrin Camilleri. And, of the remaining graduated Scholars, one left MSU for an archaeological dig in Isthmia, Greece, another is in Brazil as a Fulbright Scholar, one is teaching in a Floridian high school with a view to an ultimate PhD in History, and our last student is a research assistant in Health Economics at the University of Michigan.
We also said goodbye to four more Scholars this past December: one will soon be starting osteopathic medical school at MSU, two are destined for law school, one will be embarking on a Masters in Social Work, and another is heading to Wayne State University for a Masters in Data Science.
Well done to you all, best of luck for your futures, and please stay in regular contact!
Goodbye and thank you, Samyuktha – and welcome aboard, Dr. Karen Holt!
The Scholars Program has been richly blessed since its inception with the skills and kindness of two people who have co-created everything we do. Jenn Arbogast dedicated nearly a decade to the success of the program and the wellbeing of our students before moving to a career of excellence in clinical social work. She was replaced by a graduated Scholar, Samyuktha Iyer, to whom we are now also saying farewell.
Samyuktha came back to MSU after completing a Master of Arts Program in Social Sciences (MAPSS) at the University of Chicago and a stint working as an environmental consultant. Dedicated to the fight against climate change, she has now moved back to Chicago to pursue her vocation. In doing so, she leaves a strong legacy. Samyuktha’s enthusiasm for community engagement and applied research have helped redefine the priorities of the Scholars Program in a way that will make it stronger and better over the coming years. Courtesy of Samyuktha, we have involved dozens of students in research related to promoting pro-environmental behavior and taking shorter showers in the dorms. We’re also engaged in the community to a greater extent than ever before because she helped establish partnerships with the Fledge, Citizens for Prison Reform, and the Tenants Resource Center, all admirable Lansing-based non-profits.
Samyuktha’s most lasting impact happened at the personal level. More than a wonderful colleague, she was always ready to provide our students with supportive words and wise counsel, and scores were rescued from severe financial hardship due to her timely interventions. Samyuktha’s excellence drew not only on a basic kindness and wisdom, but also on an unbending set of ethical convictions. Her integrity and her commitment to social justice will long be remembered by the students fortunate enough to get to know her. And, in recognition of all she did for the Scholars, nearly 60 students and colleagues came together to create a memory book comprising their reflections. Beautifully and generously compiled by Taz Amin, who also added artwork and photos, we presented the book to Samyuktha during a large gathering comprising current Scholars, her research colleagues, and the community mentors with whom she has worked. That so many people contributed to Samyuktha’s memory book is a testament to how much we value her.
As Samyuktha departs, I am thrilled to be joined by Dr. Karen Holt [right], associate professor in the School of Criminal Justice. Dr. Holt has already taught Scholars classes for four years and has mentored the research of several students. She brings to the program a distinguished research profile on sexual deviance and offending and the intersection of media and sexual violence. Dr. Holt is also a driving force behind a flagship MSU class in which faculty and students work in partnership with the Michigan State Police to solve cold cases. Not only have Dr. Holt and her colleague, Dr. Alli Rojek, won university awards for teaching innovation, the Cold Case collaboration has led to successful prosecutions in homicide cases that might otherwise remain unsolved. Indicative of Dr. Holt’s dedication to teaching and to student wellbeing, last year she was the deserved recipient of the College’s Institutional Access Award. Aside from teaching a Scholars class, Dr. Holt will assist with recruitment, student mentoring, the alumni mentoring imitative, and student-led research projects, including an initiative to create an AI-chatbot to help those at risk of eviction understand their legal rights. The Scholars Program is very fortunate to have Dr. Holt on board.
Some spectacular Scholar highlights
Several graduating Scholars achieved the accolade last spring of being voted most Outstanding Senior for their major department: Taz Amin from the School of Social Work, Sasha Franklin from the Department of Classics, Jerome Hamilton from the Department of Political Science, Denis Selyuzhitsky from the Department of Economics, and Katie Heeder was the Outstanding Social Relations and Policy Senior in James Madison College.
Two graduating Scholars were also selected to be commencement speakers: Adena Norwood, pictured center left, for the College of Social Science and Katie Heeder for James Madison College.
Nia Jackson has been serving as a researcher with the Beal Botanical Garden, editing a new self-guided tour which forms part of a larger project: The Conjure Garden. This features plants specific to the integrity of African and African American spiritual traditions. The name of the tour is Untold Stories: Birth of American Rootwork.
Eleanor Pugh, pictured right, received a Boren Scholarship, one of just 132 recipients across the United States. This coveted, highly-prestigious scholarship is awarded to U.S. citizens who plan to study languages and cultures deemed critical to U.S. national security overseas. Recipients are expected to work for the federal government for at least one year after graduation and many go on to work in federal agencies. Eleanor will use her Boren to study Russian in Kazakhstan in the Spring and Summer 2026 semesters. She is also a national finalist for a Truman Scholarship!
Kierra Jursch is a co-author on two articles published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society. Aside from carrying out social science research, Kierra’s has become an integral member of Dr. Hanne Hoffmann’s Reproductive and Developmental Sciences Program (RDSP) lab.
Katie Heeder [left] this year received a Fulbright Research Award. Only about 850 of these are awarded to applicants across the world. She headed for the Federal University of Bahia in Salvador, Brazil, in September. There she is studying under Dr. Sheila Alvim and Dr. Ana Patrão who work with the ELSA-Brasil, the largest longitudinal health study of adults in Brazil that explores how social factors influence health outcomes, particularly chronic diseases. Katie is also working on her own project, begun as a Social Science Scholar, entitled ‘Media Influence on Children's Body Satisfaction.’
The achievements of Eleanor and Katie bring the Scholars Program’s total of national and international award winners to twelve: 2 Mitchells, 2 Gates Cambridges, 2 Beineckes, 3 Udalls, 1 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship, 1 Boren, and 1 Fulbright Research Award. That’s an impressive crop for a small program. Nor does it include the 20 students who have won university nominations or made it to the national finals for the Goldwater, Rhodes, Truman, Mitchell, Marshall, and Knight-Hennesy.
Speaking of nominations for these very special awards, in the fall both Kaylin Casper and Kierra Jursch were nominated by the university for the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships. Kaylin also made it to the national finals of the Rhodes competition: this is an achievement of enormous significance.
In addition, Kaylin Casper was invited onto Homecoming Court last year. And she is a featured student in the university’s current fundraising campaign.
Kayla Tracey won a first-place award in her spring 2025 UURAF (University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum) category for her study, entitled ‘Thematic Analysis of GLP-1 Content on TikTok’, an analysis of how social media may be promoting dangerous eating habits.
Adilene Martinez, as co-chair, was instrumental in organizing this year’s Dia de la Mujer Conference, pictured at the podium on the left. Marking the organization’s 31st anniversary, on Saturday February 21st 2026 the Kellogg Hotel hosted between 400 and 500 attendees for an event that celebrates Latina women’s achievements, rights, leadership, and social causes. The day involved dynamic speakers, immersive workshops, and networking opportunities with leaders and changemakers. Adilene took a lead role in making possible one of the largest Xicana/Latina women’s conferences in the Midwest.
Anabelle Sanchez was appointed a Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar, selected to be an MSU Community Engagement Scholar within the Center for Community Engaged Learning and the Office of the President, and is one of only 141 students across the country to be selected for the Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) College Leadership Program based in Los Angeles, a role for which she will help develop public policy and work to increase voter registration.
Jaida Gouldbourne was awarded by Honors College the ‘Bratzel Family Endowment Scholarship’ for her outstanding academic record and commitment to experiential learning and education abroad. In addition, Jaida received an Honorable Mention at the Honors College Diversity in Research Symposium for her presentation, ‘An Analysis of the Enslaved Population of Amity Hall Plantation, Jamaica in 1820.’ Jaida will also be this year’s College of Social Science commencement speaker!
Alayna Tisch [left] received the Ronald C. Fisher Award for Undergraduate Research Excellence and the George F. McGregor Award for Scholarship in Economics.
Arnalda Zhao was third author on a scientific publication in a very fine physiology journal. That’s quite extraordinary for a freshman student! Here’s the article. Arnalda is also a university nominee for the highly prestigious Goldwater Scholarship.
Sophia Futo was instrumental in organising a campus talk with Dr. Vikram Patel for Dr. Katharine Thakkar’s Mental Health Research Connect initiative last fall. The evening, co-hosted with NAMI-Lansing, was exceptionally well attended and powerful. Sophia also gave a superbly professional TV news interview, pictured above. In addition, Sophia was selected by the Department of Psychology as the undergraduate recipient of the Joseph L. White Award for Outstanding Contributions to Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Psychology, in recognition of her advocacy and research work with Mental Health Research Connect and Citizens for Prison Reform. Sopia also received the Ebert Family Leadership Scholarship through the Women’s Leadership Institute and the Zolton Ferency Scholarship through the Department of Criminal Justice, both acknowledging her dedication to advancing equity in the justice system. Finally, Sophia found time to serve on the executive board of ‘Ladies First A Cappella’, MSU’s premier all-treble competitive a cappella group
Katherine Dyal, a Global History and Russian dual-major and second-year Scholar, has been accepted into the Ukrainian Language Program in Poland this May, where she will study Ukrainian language and culture. She will also be attending Middlebury University's Russian immersion program this summer, where she will speak only Russian for eight weeks.
Scholars Success at UURAF
Sasha Franklin won the UURAF Grand Prize (!) for her presentation entitled ‘Archaeology Education in the Digital Age: Sharing History Through ArcGIS StoryMaps.’ She also presented this project at the Society for American Archaeology Annual meeting in Denver earlier this year. Sasha just graduated with an All-University Award for Excellence having thrived academically and served as co-president (consul!) of the MSU Classical Society.
Emily Mason won the Human Development and Family Studies’ Jacobs Family Scholarship, which provides funding for students completing a semester internship with a non-profit or human services organization. Emily also won a first-place award at UURAF for a poster entitled ‘Examining Family-Youth Relationship Risk Factors and Recidivism Among Juvenile Offenders’.
Delaney Cram and Prachurjo Das won a first-place award at UURAF for their poster entitled ‘Policies to Support Women in the Skilled Trades and Small Businesses in Michigan’.
In addition to all the accolades listed above, Katie Heeder was awarded the 2025 Herbert Garfinkel Award for Citizenship and Democracy (James Madison College) and the Outstanding Student in Spanish Award (College of Arts and Letters).
A’Nya Burks won a first-place award at UURAF for her poster entitled, ‘Policy impact on opioid abuse disorder in Michigan’.
Abigail Livingston won a first-place award at UURAF for her poster entitled ‘Canopy Openness and Forb Diversity in a Michigan Oak Savanna’.
This newsletter could very easily be filled with the achievements of Sumaiya Imad [left, middle], but I’ll just mention a few of her latest accolades! Sumaiya received a First Prize Honors College Giving Back Scholarship, the Spartan Volunteer Service Award and MSU Outreach and Engagement award for over 1600 hours of service in a year, and she was featured on the MSU Economics Department’s student spotlight. Most impressively, Sumaiya was selected from among applicants across the country for two high-profile and very prestigious programs: she is a John Lewis Young Leader in the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights foundation and a Dalai Lama Fellow. Both reflect her commitment to compassionate, community-centered leadership. Oh, and Sumaiya also won a first-place UURAF award for her poster entitled, ‘Survivors to Leaders: Success of Co-produced Models for Combating Human Trafficking’. Most recently, Sumaiya is one of the undergraduates selected for the current university fundraising campaign.
Noelle Wharf received the Jack Katosh Undergraduate and Experiential Learning Award last April. This coming summer, as a Demmer Scholar, she’ll be interning with the Department of the Interior in its Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance. She’ll have the chance to assist with drafting internal policy memos, mapping in ArcGIS, organizing compliance data in Excel, and assisting with project budget documentation, and other administrative tasks.
Mason Hambley participated in the Fed Challenge, a demanding national competition whereby groups of undergraduates argue for different economic policies. As part of the experience, Mason and his team visited the D.C. Federal Reserve Board of Governor's building. In addition, Mason received the Henderson Family Award for the Study of Slavery which is allowing him to work with Dr. Walter Hawthorne on a project analyzing old court records to recover the names of enslaved individuals in Southern counties.
Anneliese Mackel was awarded the highly competitive Baden-Württemberg Scholarship from the German government for a year-long study abroad in Germany next year. She’s studying there right now.
Marcos Garcia was recently accepted into the Community Engaged Scholars Program (CESP) and will be a Newman Fellow for the upcoming year, a position for which he was nominated by the university president. Marcos also won a first prize at UURAF for his poster entitled ‘Complexities of the American ‘Latino Vote’’. Marcos is currently co-leading a brilliant initiative whereby the Scholars Program is partnering with the Tenant Resource Center and MSU’s Housing Law Clinic to develop an AI-chatbot to help people at risk of eviction in Michigan to learn their precise legal rights.
Chloe Alexander participated last summer in an eight-week French Language, Literature, and Culture program in Tours, France. She was fully immersed in French culture by living with a host family, taking part in cultural excursions, and enrolling in intensive language courses. This coming summer, she will be interning in the downtown Chicago office of the accounting/consulting firm Wipfli.
Khadija Bilaspurwala received the Women's Leadership Institute Experiential Learning Fund Scholarship, a University Activities Board Scholarship, and an Honors College Award of Excellence.
Ofelia Yeghiyan was invited to join the Armenian Assembly of America's Terjenian-Thomas Internship Program, meeting with Congressional staffers and elected officials on issues related to Armenian affairs. She also earned a highly competitive scholarship from the Women's Congressional Staff Foundation to fund her stay in D.C. while an intern in the office of Senator Gary Peters. Ofelia was accepted into the Armenian National Committee of America's Capital Gateway Program. This program provided free housing in D.C. as she successfully sought a permanent political position and engaged in a series of professional development events. Lastly, Ofelia received a scholarship to attend the 2025 Armenian Advocacy Summit in DC to participate in Armenian advocacy and policy meetings in Congressional offices in Washington, D.C.
Catelyn Arnold received the MSU Shao Chang Lee Undergraduate Scholarship for outstanding accomplishments in Asian Studies. She also participated as a student representative for MSU at the ‘Global Excellence: Building Inclusive University Communities’ conference, held at Korea University in Seoul, South Korea.
Ainsley McNamara, Jaida Gouldbourne, and Josie Danielkiewicz were all selected last summer to participate in the ‘Carceral State Project’, an initiative devised by scholars at the University of Michigan ‘to document and challenge the historical and contemporary processes of criminalization, policing, incarceration, immigrant detention, and other forms of carceral control in the state of Michigan and beyond.’ Ainsley, Jaida, and Josie spent many hours digitising documents in the state archives related to the history of prison policy and conditions.
Josef Bulko was the recipient of a Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship through the Asian Studies Center. This is a very competitive program and enabled Josef to spend the summer in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, completing 10 language credits of Japanese at the 400-lvl.
Jack Vethacke completed a three-week intensive course at the London School of Economics entitled ‘Analysis and Management of Financial Risk’, designed to teach students how to decrease risk in investment portfolios.
Olivia Bisson won a first-place award in UURAF for her poster entitled ‘Development of a Pro-Environmental Behaviors Mentor Training Program’.
Dakota Hendren has been selected to take on two leadership positions this upcoming school year: as co-president of MSU's Chapter of Society for News Design and as Club Relations Director for Shutter Squad (a student-run creative camera club). Dakota was also recently appointed as an ambassador at the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association annual Summer Journalism Workshop at MSU. She assisted with the Design Like A Pro class, taught by Randy Yeip, who is the Data Visualization Director at Business Insider and previously the Deputy Graphics Director at The Wall Street Journal.
Lana Elsibai, pictured right, served as president of ‘Bridges’, a university-affiliated ESL tutoring organization/Registered Student Organization. She and her colleagues teach English to dining hall workers/culinary service staff who are often from immigrant and refugee communities. Bridges has focused on Case Hall but will now expand to Brody. Below is a photo from the graduation event Lana helped to organise at the end of last semester.
Lillian Navin has been appointed as marketing chair for the premed fraternity, PhiDE.
Farra Lee is working on the ‘Spark Bird Project’ with Dr. Lodi-Smith (Canisius College in Upstate New York), conducting quantitative coding and supporting outreach efforts (including traveling to NYC to connect with Dr. Lodi-Smith and local New York birding clubs). Farra is involved in this project because an MSU professor who learned of her love for bird watching put her in contact with Dr. Lodi-Smith. Farra, pictured left, was able to meet up with recently graduated scholar Macken Keefe while in New York.
Megan Riley attended the 2026 Midwest Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium with the Socio-normative Influences in Physical Activity (SNIPA) lab, for which she is a research assistant under Dr. Jeemin Kim. Megan is involved in several studies, including one that is testing new approaches to reducing antisocial parent behaviors at high school sport events!
Social Science Scholars have also participated in a wide range of impressive internships. Here are just a few:
Lana Elsibai interned at Arab American News, where she had the opportunity to write and publish stories in the local newspaper.
Abigail Livingston spent this summer in D.C. working at an environmental lobbying firm as a Demmer Scholar. Abigail learned how advocacy, policy, and science intersect in shaping conservation efforts.
Sumaiya Imad interned at the Public Defender’s Office in Genesee County, where she worked closely with attorneys on arraignments, motions, and client advocacy.
Ana Murillo completed a summer internship with Homeland Security Investigations in Detroit and a 7-month stint interning with Michigan State Police’s Criminal Justice Information Center to conduct projects related to Michigan’s Clean Slate legislation.
Ainsley McNamara interned at the Western District of Michigan Probation and Pretrial Services Office. She assisted Parole Officers with their caseloads, performing criminal history verifications, and attending court.
Katharine Dyal, Anneliese Mackel, and Kenny Thomas all interned with Good Counsel Services, a law nonprofit in New York City, under the expert guidance of Elizabeth Dembrowsky, LLC.
Emily Mason spent a second summer interning with ITC Holdings Corp as their legal and regulatory intern. She expanded her knowledge of evolving federal energy regulations and gained practical litigation experience through participation in mock cross-examinations and oral arguments.
Sophia Futo completed a Behavioral Health Internship with the Forensic Department at Community Support Services (CSS) in Akron, Ohio. Sophia regularly attended felony mental health court hearings through Summit County’s H.O.P.E. Court, assisted in reviewing sanity and competency evaluations, and participated in weekly forensic group therapy sessions.
Mason Hambley interned in Flint with Communities First Incorporated where he helped support the mission of providing more affordable housing in the city.
Prachurjo Das, A’Nya Banks, and Marcos Garcia all interned with a new Lansing-based nonprofit, Tenants Resource Center. They have been helping to protect Lansing residents from eviction and assisting the previously evicted to find new places to live and thereby avoid homelessness.
Annabelle Sanchez served as an intern with the Gage Park Latinx Council in Chicago this summer. Her role involved operational tasks related to grant writing with the nonprofit’s leadership team to secure essential funding.
Olivia Bisson interned with the Michigan League of Conservation Voters through the Glassen Scholars program. Her responsibilities included environmental policy research and analysis, meetings with lawmakers and other environmental non-profits, and creating educational handouts.
Emma Pinson has been appointed as Vice President of the Honor's College Dean's Advisory Council.
Reina St. Juliana is working with Dr. Gurinskaya on research examining access to digital reporting systems across Michigan law enforcement agencies. She also has an internship with the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office in the special victims unit this summer. This past summer, she interned at Camp Oakland, a non-profit residential program for at-risk youth in the juvenile justice system.
The alumni mentoring initiative is back and strong!
From the start of the Scholars Program, college alumni have been donating time and wisdom to mentor our students. I immediately think of people like Mike Morrow and Karen Shrock who have consistently provided support for Scholars, going beyond the call of duty in providing friendship, contacts, and words of advice during tough times. Although the mentoring initiative took a hit during Covid, it is now back up and running and one of the Scholars Program’s main goals is to grow it over the coming months and years. Last year, with substantial input from Risa Borr, Karen Schrock, Barbara Gerson, Samyuktha Iyer and Jonathan Yarbrough, we launched a new model. Courtesy of their expertise, we have a formal policy for matching mentors and mentees and providing advice on how to serve as an effective mentor. As we embark on 2026, we’ll start matching more pairs and having online – and occasionally in-person – gatherings for mentors.
I recently asked some Scholars about their experiences as mentees and they were unequivocal in their enthusiasm. Typical comments include:
“Deciding to join the Scholars mentorship initiative was one of the best things I did my freshman year … I'm so glad to know that I have someone I can turn to for both academic and personal advice. This program offers such a wonderful opportunity to form a partnership with someone who is not out to assess and grade you, but to assist and guide you.”
“My alumni mentor has used her network and experience to help me find ways to get involved in the community. She has taught me what a career in the nonprofit or political world might look like and has supported me when I felt unsure of myself.”
“My mentor is phenomenal. Since my focus is on journalism and political science, he brought me to professional events and connected me with many people who could help me with my field. This mentorship will have a lasting impact on my career.”
“My mentor has been extremely supportive and encouraging from the start. When I was balancing LSAT studying, two internships, classes, and other personal matters last semester, she always checked in, cheered me on, and provided wonderful advice.”
“My mentor has been there for me in ways that go far beyond what I imagined a mentor could be. He’s helped me think through career decisions, refine my goals, and reminded me to care for my well-being when I push myself too hard. This past summer, while I was interning in Flint and struggling to process the realities of the incarceration system and the flaws in our justice system, he drove out to visit me. He’d worked in Flint before, so he understood in a way few others could, and his presence gave me both emotional and professional support right when I needed it most.”
If you would like to serve as a mentor to a Social Science Scholar, please let me know (wallerj1@msu.edu)!
Mentor/mentee Images: Dakota Hendren, her mentor Larry Lee, and Governor Gretchen Whitmer; Charles Dobis and Sumaiya Imad
Scholars Alumni gather in Denver
A heartfelt thank you to our Colorado-based alumni who joined Rachel Schmidt (Senior Director of Development, College of Social Science) and Dr. John Waller (Director, Social Science Scholars Program) for a highly memorable event in Denver on November 21. John Van Eden (James Madison '91, Human Resources and Labor Relations '93) and his wife Marcia hosted our group with the utmost generosity, and we were delighted to welcome ten Spartans and their spouses to the gathering. The focus of the evening was reflections from three recent graduates, pictured above - Maysa Sitar (Political Science '21), Bill Wetzel (Criminal Justice '21), and Astley Siwela (Economics '20) – about their experiences.
Spotlights on students, graduates, and alumni supporters
In each issue of the Scholars newsletter, we like to highlight a current Scholar, a graduated Scholar, and one of our alumni supporters who helps to make possible what we do.
Eleanor Pugh
Eleanor is a third-year Social Science Scholar who is also majoring in International Relations in James Madison College and Russian in the College of Arts and Letters. She is an astonishingly gifted student who has, stretching out before her, an important career in the State Department or another branch of the foreign service. The recipient of a Boren Scholarship, and a national finalist for a coveted Truman Scholarship, she has done everything possible to prepare to offer informed and reasoned advice about how the US should operate in Russia and the ex-Soviet Republics. Currently, Eleanor is currently studying at the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. For this newsletter item, I asked Eleanor several questions. Here are her responses.
How did you first become interested in Russia and the ex-Soviet republics?I first became interested in learning Russian in middle school, after learning about the history of the space race between the US and Soviet Union. In high school, I had the chance to study abroad in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, for 6 weeks on a U.S. Department of State scholarship program, sparking my interest in Central Asia and other ex-Soviet republics.
What classes and research experiences at MSU have allowed you to deepen and expand your knowledge?Through the Professorial Assistantship program, I worked for Professor Norman Graham, researching Sino-Kazakh transboundary water sharing on the Ili River, which I hope to visit next year while I’m in Kazakhstan. I also worked as a research assistant for Professor Sherman Garnett. In this capacity, I will be traveling to Uzbekistan this fall as part of a university delegation studying Islamic Art. I also helped with the Distinguished Nuclear Policy Lecture Series that brings nuclear experts to MSU. In terms of classes, ‘Russian Foreign Policy’ with Professor Norman Graham is likely the most impactful course of my undergraduate career thus far. Additionally, courses on nuclear policy increased my interest in American grand strategy and disarmament. In addition, through Social Science Scholars classes, I have had the opportunity to study ethnic conflict and human interactions in a variety of contexts, from modern America to Apartheid-era South Africa. Exploring underlying human motives and behaviors provided me with a different lens to understand these issues than the traditional International Relations courses.
Can you describe your internship experiences? I am currently an intern for the American Foreign Policy Council, a think tank in Washington, D.C. There I work for the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Russia & Ukraine Programs, assisting with research on the region. I’ve contributed to the weekly “Russia Policy Monitor” publication and a briefing book for a congressional delegation to Ukraine. I’ve also helped the think tank with briefings for congressional staffers on Capitol Hill, and with social media management. Previously, I served as a virtual intern for the Public Diplomacy Section at the U.S. Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan. In this position, I analyzed local media for a newsletter for embassy officials and evaluated grant applications for educational programs. I additionally served as a virtual intern for the U.S. Department of State’s EducationUSA Russia program, leading a book club for Russian students seeking to improve their English to study abroad for undergrad in the U.S.What will you use the funds provided for by the Boren Scholarship? I will study at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from January to August 2026. There I will take courses in advanced Russian language and area studies with American students, as well as audit courses taught in Russian at the university. I also hope to secure an internship or volunteer position to use my Russian language skills professionally.
Where do you hope to end up career-wise? I hope to work in the foreign policy sphere, and look forward to exploring different options over the next few years.
What other experiences at MSU have helped you become the highly successful person you are now? As the Secretary of Generations Connect, I had the chance to develop a relationship with a local senior who has visited more than 100 different countries and to hear about her international travels. Additionally, as a part of MSU Model United Nations, I had the chance to lead a committee at MSU’s high school conference on Kyrgyzstan’s 2010 revolution.
Katie Heeder
Katie graduated from MSU and the Scholars Program in spring 2025. She had an outstanding academic career. But we’ll always cherish Katie’s personal impact on her fellow Scholars. When I asked my colleague in the Scholars Program, Dr. Melissa Fore, for her favorite memory of Katie, this is what she wrote: ‘I can’t do a favorite memory because everything all melts together, but one thing I will highlight as extraordinarily special: Katie always shows up for people and she shows up with her full self. She’s the person who would look around class and see if someone was sitting by themselves and go sit by them. She’s one of the most generous and kind people I’ve met.’ You’ll detect this other-centredness in Kate’s answers to the questions we posed:
Why did you choose to study at MSU? Put simply, Michigan State was the school that most enthusiastically demonstrated its desire to have me as a student. The Honors College's offer of a Professorial Assistantship, an unmatched opportunity to engage in serious academic research as a first-year student, along with my discovery of the Social Science Scholars Program, made a very convincing argument for attending MSU. As one of six children, I knew with certainty that I would have to finance college by myself. I keenly remember when the idea of tens of thousands of dollars of debt began to weigh heavily on me. Thus, the ultimate catalyst for choosing Michigan State was the realization that if I worked extremely hard, I could potentially graduate debt-free. I am very proud to report that I was successful in this endeavor. I also recognize with immense gratitude the abundant generosity of the various colleges and university programs, including Social Science Scholars, that helped me achieve this goal.
Briefly describe your research experiences. For my Professorial Assistantship, I worked with Dr. Amy Simon in James Madison College on her research studying portrayals of emotions in Yiddish diaries during World War II. Later, I worked on the Scholars' History Textbook Project under the guidance of Dr. Waller and Dr. Melissa Fore. Upon receiving funding from the College of Social Science’s Provost's Undergraduate Research Initiative (PURI), I then embarked on various independent research projects to understand how messaging and the portrayal of overweight characters in children’s literature might adversely influence children’s eating habits and attitudes towards body size and shape. I created research prospectuses and proposals, conducted literature reviews, and compiled codeword lists. These projects ignited my desire to carry out, from start to finish, a research project that analyzes media influence on children’s body image, which I am excited to embark on this fall.
Tell us about your internship experiences. My first internship was with AgeAlive, for which I planned and facilitated free nutrition events and cooking demonstrations for seniors in the Greater Lansing Area to improve physical well-being and combat isolation catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, the summer following my sophomore year (June-August 2023), I participated in the William A. Demmer Scholars Program in Washington, DC, where I interned with the Federal Legislative Affairs Team at the Nature Conservancy and completed coursework and professional development in federal natural resource policy. My junior year, I joined the Community Engagement Scholars Program, where I created resources for student support staff highlighting how social disparities impact educational access for Communities in Schools Michigan, a non-profit that works to support students in underserved schools. Finally, the summer before my senior year, I participated in Michigan State's Math Department’s Topology Research Training Group, funded by the NSF. If I were to give advice to other students about internships, I would say that it’s okay not to love or feel perfectly aligned with every experience you have. I learned so much that I never could have predicted from every opportunity, and each one informed the work that I feel most passionate about.
What are some of the highlights of your MSU years? Without a doubt, my most cherished moments during my time at MSU are the memories that have nothing to do with accomplishments and all to do with the beauty of the human connection. What comes to mind immediately is a rainy day spent in the Lake District on my study abroad to Britain in 2022 talking to a sheep farmer named Tomsey about his livelihood, the concerns he had about the economic future of sheep farming, and the complicated logistics of passing the farm onto his descendants. He was so honest in expressing his anxieties, though he barely knew my peers and me. Later that evening, in Old Dungeon Ghyll hotel’s mahogany pub, equipped with live guitar and drums (it was music night!), I sat with other Scholars and a woman who had grown up in England but lived in the U.S. for most of her adult life. She shared how she felt pulled between two continents, her heart so fond for her birthplace but also for her grandchildren in the States. These candid displays of emotion struck me then and have stayed with me ever since. In times of loneliness or crisis, I look back at meaningful interactions I feel so fortunate to have experienced. They are examples of the goodness of humanity, and as time passes, I feel increasingly convinced that we need these reminders to preserve hope for the future.
What advice would you give incoming students? I guess I’ll start with the caveat that I’m a firm believer that all advice should be taken with a grain of salt (or two), and mine is no different. It’s easy to say accolades don’t matter. In certain spaces they do. What I wish I had heard as an incoming student is that, at the end of the day, you’re the one living your life. You’re the one experiencing the little moments that other people don’t see. I’d like to spend my life trying to fill those moments with as much joy and meaning as possible rather than chasing down goal posts that will move as soon as I reach them. Relatedly, I wish I had been explicitly told that it’s fine not to want the same thing as those around you. We are each the authors of our own story. On that note, I really would push students to chase their interests, no matter how unequipped they might feel. Try things out, maybe it won’t come easily, or you’ll realize you don’t like it. Either way, you’ve learned something new and become a more well-rounded person who can appreciate the vastness of the world. Above all, I’d recommend that as you go through the next four years, periodically take the time to check-in with yourself and refocus on your contentment. Getting caught up in the whims of other people’s wishes or expectations is easy. Maybe a bit cliché, but my wish for students is that they stay true to who they are and steadfastly believe in themselves.
Now that you’ve graduated, what are you going on to do? In September, I’ll be going to Brazil on a Fulbright research grant to complete the research project I referred to earlier entitled "Media Influence on Children's Body Satisfaction.” I will be working with two professors at the Federal University of Bahia, which is located in a coastal city of about 2.5 million people called Salvador. Receiving a Fulbright to complete a project whose roots were planted throughout my undergraduate journey, specifically in a program as special as the Social Science Scholars, feels incredibly full circle and apt. I am extremely grateful for the support and guidance I’ve had from mentors, faculty, and peers who were instrumental in my growth these past four years. In turn, I plan to use this opportunity to support and empower children and young adults in following their wonder and cultivating joy.
Study abroad
Last summer, Dr. Melissa Fore and Dr. Heather McCauley took the first-year Scholars cohort to the UK for just over three weeks, taking in London, Oxford, and the Lake District. The trip takes in a wide range of academic themes, stretching from British history, race and class in twentieth-century Britain, and urban and rural divides, to the experience of two devastating world wars, and the politics of Brexit.
Each year, students come back intellectually enriched by time spent in classes with local academics or at such destinations as the Imperial War Museum, the Black Cultural Archives, or the gardens of Rousham House in the Cotswolds where they spend an afternoon discussing the nature and future of AI with an award-winning English novelist. They also read books that offer rich insight into British history and culture. James Rebank’s The Shepherd’s Life is always a favorite, exploring the lives of sheep farmers amid the rugged hills of the Lake District and of the many misperceptions of the urban visitors who flock there in the summer months. The class those year also appreciated the personal testimonies collected in Colin Grant’s Homecoming: voices of the Windrush generation, an oral history of the Caribbean immigrants who immigrated to Britain from the late 1940s and early 1960s. And, this year, the Scholars read the novel Zed, by Joanna Kavenna, a brilliantly prophetic account of the growing role of AI in our daily existence. Importantly, the Scholars Program study abroad takes an experiential approach. We alternate between time spent in the classroom with evenings of reading followed by miles of walking in relevant locations and holding discussions of the class material on the fly. The result, as one of this year’s participant noted, is an “unforgettable, immersive educational experience.”
Intellectual engagement is the core of the trip, but students also benefit in other ways. One of them is to fall in love with the sensory experience of travel. I’ll quote in full the recollections of one student who provides a lovely reminder of the sheer, heady excitement of being in a new place: “In true London fashion, we were caught in the rain and as we ran to catch our ferry, I realized we were directly across the river from the London Eye. With no time to stop, I thought that would be the end of our sightseeing for the day. But, just minutes into our ferry ride, I was shocked when Tower Bridge entered our view. I vividly remember standing sodden, in awe, at what’s now my favorite landmark from on the trip. We would come to visit the Tower of London on a later day and again see Tower Bridge. To me, however, I’ll always remember the unexpected delight of seeing the famous icon on a spontaneous ferry ride with a group of girls who were great travel buddies.’ Such exposures are so vital for encouraging lifetimes of travel.
The last comment of this student highlights another essential feature of the Scholars Program trip to the UK: it is an opportunity to forge lasting bonds of friendship as they study, walk, eat, and travel together. As one Scholar wrote, “The best part of the trip was forming genuine connections with my classmates.” The students identified multiple ways in which the trip brought them closer. The shared enjoyment of beauty is a common theme, especially in the Lake District. “We walked to Blea Tarn, Ambleside, and even hiked up to the summit of Harrison Stickle” writes one Scholar, adding “On each hike, the views of the landscape were incredible, beyond what words can describe. But the best part was that I got to experience these views with other Scholars, and in those moments, I felt that we were connected by something so amazingly unique.” Long hours spent just with one another is also clearly important for creating camaraderie. Simply playing cards towards the end of the trip, writes one Scholar, allowed them to become “so much closer to everyone else” and make “real friends.” “Over the course of the trip,” explained another Scholar, “we developed deep bonds with one another by being in solitude together.” Several singled out the joy of sitting around a campfire at the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, enjoying a collective “steadiness and rest” after a long day of discussions and hiking. Another talked of the bonding that took place as they learned to rely on one another as they tackled new surroundings: “We figured out how to navigate the new territory together, laughing, singing, and getting to know each other as we walked around the town.” The delight of “simply enjoying each other's company” is the dominant theme in their recollections. At a time when less and less time in our lives is set aside for genuine human interaction, it is particularly important that students have this opportunity to do so.
That members of the Social Science Scholars Program are able to travel and learn together in the UK is to a large extent due to the generosity of alumni who appreciate the value of students being challenged by spending stretches of time together in unfamiliar settings. The specialness of the opportunity is not lost on the students themselves. “This trip will forever hold a special place in my heart,” one Scholar concluded in her reflections, “and I’m truly grateful that I was able to experience it”. On behalf of all the students who went to the UK last summer, and those who will be embarking this coming summer, I’d like to express our profound gratitude to the alumni supporters who make this trip possible.