In recognition of their outstanding academic and personal achievements, APSA is pleased to announce the APSA Minority Fellows for the 2014–15 academic year. The Minority Fellows Program (MFP) was established in 1969 as an effort to increase the number of minority scholars in the discipline and has designated more than 500 fellows and contributed to the successful completion of doctoral political science programs for over 150 individuals. APSA has refocused and increased its efforts to assist minority students in completing their doctorates by concentrating not only on the recruitment of minorities, but also on the retention of these groups within the profession. The MFP designates up to 12 stipend minority fellows each year. Fellows with stipends receive a $4,000 fellowship that is disbursed in two $2,000 payments—one at the end of their first graduate year and one at the end of their second—provided that they remain in good academic standing. Awards are based on students’ undergraduate course work, GPA, extracurricular activities, GRE scores, and recommendations from faculty.
Members of the selection committee for the 2014–15 Minority Fellowship Program included B. D'Andra Orey, Committee on the Status of Blacks in the Profession; Natalie Masuoka, Committee on the Status of Asian Pacific Americans in the Profession; Christina Elizabeth Bejarano, Committee on the Status of Latinos and Latinas in the Profession. Learn more about the program by visiting http://www.apsanet.org/content_3284.cfm
ELIAS ASSAF
Elias Assaf will graduate from the University of Central Florida (UCF) in 2014 with an MA in political science. His research interests include political psychology, foreign policy decision making, leadership and personality traits, as well as the behaviors of political groups and institutions. Elias has presented papers at the Southern Political Science Association, the Midwest Political Science Association, and Florida Political Science Association. His thesis, “Leadership, Cognition, and Emotion: An Analysis of Political Leaders’ Decision Making Processes Regarding the Use of Force” merges psychological research with political questions. In addition, he has worked with UCF’s Psychology Department as a member of the Emotions and Moods in Organizations Lab. Elias is a member of both the Political Science Graduate Student Association and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. He is eager to pursue a PhD in political science next year and seeks to explore the types of leadership and decision making processes that lead to effective policies within governments and organizations.
ALVIE COES III
Alvie Coes III is a graduate of Georgia Southern University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in human resource management, and a double master’s degree in business administration and higher education administration. As an undergraduate, Alvie was a 2005 Ronald E. McNair Scholar and presented his research on the Internet and the impact of technology on education, healthcare, and government industries. Alvie is seeking a doctorate in political science to examine the role of American politics and administrative law in shaping the policies of nonpolitical agencies on the federal and state level. He also plans to study public policy and administration focusing on policies related to economic development.
JUSTINE M. DAVIS
Justine M. Davis holds a dual-language master’s degree in international affairs, conflict resolution, and civil society development from the American University of Paris and the Université de Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Ms. Davis graduated from Elon University with a bachelor’s degree in international studies, with an African concentration. She recently completed a Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy Fellowship in Côte d’Ivoire where she collaborated with the Ivorian Ministry of Education on the implementation and evaluation of the newly instated Human Rights and Citizenship Education curriculum for elementary and middle school-level students. Justine’s master’s thesis, which examined the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in post-conflict Côte d’Ivoire, was awarded the highest distinction in July 2012. Her academic interests include the democratization process in post-conflict African states. She is particularly interested in the conditions conducive to the development of a democratic culture, focusing on the role of civil society organizations and civic education initiatives.
GARLAND DOYLE
Garland Doyle is a 2013 graduate of Eastern Michigan University (EMU) completing his master of public administration with a concentration in nonprofit administration. He received a Graduate Certificate in Local Government Management from EMU in 2011. His research interests are community development, democracy, nonprofit management education, urban policy and governance. Doyle plans to pursue his PhD and plans to focus on research that examines new models of urban governance, community development, and democracy. Doyle, a certified nonprofit professional, also wants to research how nonprofits that contract with the government build their capacity to effectively implement public services and demonstrate program outcomes. Doyle’s capstone paper received the Pi Alpha Alpha Best Master’s Student Manuscript Award at the 2013 Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration Conference.
MARAAM DWIDAR
Maraam Dwidar is a senior at the University of California, Davis, where she is completing a BA in political science with a minor in statistics. She is a 2013 Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellow with Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Public Policy and Management. She currently works as a research assistant in UC Davis’ Department of Political Science, recently began a position as a student researcher with the California Civic Engagement Project at UC Davis’ Center for Regional Change, and has accepted an internship with the Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies Program for the spring of 2014. Maraam just completed a senior thesis examining social media use in the US House of Representatives through the lens of American political behavior and communication theory. As a prospective doctoral student in political science, Maraam hopes to research trends driving American political behavior and policy development, with a focus on the impacts of public and private institutions, particularly, the media.
LIANA GONZALEZ
Liana Gonzalez is senior at Texas A&M University in College Station majoring in political science. Liana’s research interests are in European political and social policy. She attended Texas A&M University’s Summer Research Academy headed by Kenneth Meier and Michael Koch where she studied the relationship between minority population size and policy expenditure. Liana plans to pursue a PhD in political science with a focus in comparative politics.
ERICA R. LEE
Erica R. Lee earned her BA in political science from Howard University. While at Howard, Erica was a member of Pi Sigma Alpha and the Ralph Bunche International Affairs Society. She also won several awards, including the African American Linguists Scholarship and the Howard University Young Ambassadors Award, and she was named a Howard University Lucy Moten Study Abroad Fellow. In 2008, Erica was a participant in the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Summer Enrichment Program and in 2009 she received the William J. Clinton Foundation Scholarship to study Middle Eastern politics at the American University in Dubai, located in the United Arab Emirates. She subsequently completed her master’s degree in European and Mediterranean Studies at New York University, where she researched Black political advocacy organizations in France. Ms. Lee plans on pursuing her PhD, focusing on Black identity in France and how this identity defines and influences this community’s participation in the French political process.
EDEN MESFUN
Eden Mesfun is a senior at Rutgers University majoring in political science. Her research interests include international political economy, comparative politics, and sub-Saharan African politics. Eden’s honors thesis explores instances of border collaboration between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. As a 2013 Ronald E. McNair Scholar, Eden investigated the inequalities within the Democratic Republic of Congo’s artisanal mining sector. As a 2012 Scholar for the Institute for Research on Women, Eden examined Hausaland Nigeria’s transsexual network to highlight the ways transsexual Hausa-people challenge and perpetuate gender constructs. Eden seeks to pursue her PhD and become a professor of political science.
N’KOSI OATES
N’Kosi Oates is a senior majoring in political science and communications at the University of Delaware. He is a Ronald E. McNair Scholar and in 2013 was awarded the Gladys and Harry David Zutz Award from the Department of Political Science at the University of Delaware. As a McNair Scholar, his first research project investigated Black migration southward. Last summer, N’Kosi conducted research at Columbia University through the Leadership Alliance Summer Research Program. Under the mentorship of Dorian Warren and Robert Shapiro he produced “Neighborhood Poverty and Political Participation,” which examined the affects neighborhood poverty has on political mobilization and political participation among impoverished African Americans. He is interested in race and ethnic politics, political participation, and urban politics. He intends to pursue a doctorate in political science.
MARIAH PRENSA
Mariah Prensa is a political science major and will receive her BA from SUNY Buffalo State in 2014. She completed three political science courses at the University of Hawaii Hilo, was a research intern for the Summer Research Initiative at the University of Maryland College Park, and is studying abroad in Romania at the Babeş-Bolyai University. In Romania, Mariah is completing courses in public administration, working as an intern, and hopes to visit the Middle East. In addition she has presented her research “A Moment of Reflection: International Intervention in the Democratic Republic of Congo” at the University of Maryland, the 2013 APSA Annual Meeting as a 2013 APSA Ralph Bunche Fellow, and the New York State Sociological Association Conference. Mariah has spent a considerable amount of time serving the community. Through the Pan African Student Organization and the NAACP at SUNY Buffalo State she organized events with the purpose of increasing political consciousness. Prensa is interested in pursuing a doctoral degree in political science with a focus on methodology, the correlation between international organizations, ethnic conflict, and political education.
SERGIO E. SANCHEZ
Sergio E. Sanchez is a political science lecturer at California State University, Chico, where he teaches American Government and Research Methods. Sergio received his MA in political science from CSU Chico, and his BS in political science from the University of Maryland, University College. Sergio’s research interests are international relations and security studies. Mr. Sanchez’s professional experience includes serving as an intelligence 0fficer for the Defense Intelligence Agency, and as an intelligence specialist with the United States Air Force, where he was detailed to the National Security Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency. Sergio seeks to pursue a PhD in political science in international relations and security studies.
BRIANA J. VARGAS-GONZALEZ
Briana J. Vargas-Gonzalez is a second -year graduate student in the MA political science program at the University of Central Florida (UCF). In 2011, she graduated cum laude with a BA in political science focusing in international relations and decided to continue her studies at UCF. She will complete her thesis during the summer term of 2014 and continue her education in a political science doctoral program. Her research interests include comparative political studies in Central Eastern Europe, public opinion, political behavior, and transitional democratic institutions and citizens’ response to such institutions. Briana presented her preliminary research on citizen approval of membership with the European Union since the 2008 global economic crisis focusing on post-communist member states at the 2013 Northeastern Political Science Association’s annual meeting. She also plans to attend the 2014 Midwest Political Science Association’s annual meeting where she will present further quantitative analysis of her preliminary research. Briana plans on completing a PhD in political science with a focus on democratic growth and accountability in developing nations.
