Beyond the Classroom in Political Science

Northern Kentucky University is and always will be a home for me. What makes it so great for me is what I experienced outside the classroom. The support network and faculty willingness to help made my time spent here has made a huge impact on my life.

I am a dual Political Science/International Studies major with an area of concentration in French. When I came to NKU I had so many interests and no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I remained undecided for a long time, until I had to choose, really. I decided that I enjoyed people, connections, relationships, and discussion and wanted a career where that was a major component. I knew from day 1 that I did not want to be a politician, and quickly learned that there are so many opportunities available to those in NKU’s Political Science Department.

A degree was not enough for me. I wanted life experience. I wanted to grow and learn, and not just in the classroom. And THIS is my favorite part of my educational experience. I went to my advisor and said, “I want an internship.” We discussed options and possibilities, and I settled on a program in Washington, DC. I was fortunate enough to be accepted with the Department of Defense, and spend 10 weeks working in the world’s largest office building, the Pentagon. It was an amazing experience and my advisor (Professor Braden, who is amazing) and I were in constant contact. Anything I needed help with I could ask for.

When I got home I went back to the department for another internship. I met a great mentor in Vice President Joe Wind and interned in his office. Again, Professor Braden and I were always communicating about my experience, and how I could continue to get the most out of it. That internship eventually led to a student employment position and I have been able to apply classroom instruction to real life. Twice a week I am in the Kentucky state house in Frankfort, engaging in the political process and watching government up close and personal.

My thirst had yet to be quenched. Next on my list was to study abroad. NKU has a great program in KIIS and I spent another summer in Paris, focusing more on my international studies and French education. Who wouldn’t want to spend a summer there? I practiced French in the streets of Paris, snacking on baguettes.

I will be graduating in May and am satisfied with what I have accomplished. I am ready to join the work force and because of my education and the support that supplemented my degree, know that I will be successful.  College is about more than a degree, more than classes. It is about life experiences; I simply would not be where I am without the out of class extra support in the Political Science Department.

This is Kevin Donnelly during his internship at the Pentagon - "Next question please!"

The Next Step

With graduation looming in May, I am at a crossroads in my life: what is my next step? For nearly four years, I have been a student at NKU and I have witnessed its growth as well as the growth within myself. But what comes after? When I declared Political Science as my major in the beginning of my sophomore year, I was absolutely sure that I would attend law school and become an attorney in a private firm. I was absolutely sure that my chosen career path was the best fit for me and my interests.

 Now, the day has arrived. I have applied to 10 law schools within 6 hours of Northern Kentucky and received many acceptances and enticing offers but it hasn’t felt like all the pieces were fitting together. If I have learned anything at NKU, it has been that my career-goal in life is to find happiness within a job. That seems silly; shouldn’t we all be happy in our chosen profession? But, too often, I witness many friends, family members, etc. that are not happy with the work they do every day. So my next question became: over the past four years, what courses, research and projects have felt important to me and did I enjoy working on?

The answer was very clear to me – in my spring semester of my sophomore year, I took a political science course (PSC 315) that was centered around learning to write and research material for a literature review. While my topic for the paper ending up being outside of my interests, I was given the chance to feel free to discuss ideas and my interests in environmental issues for my paper. The professor of the course, Dr. Weir, met with me and gave me some guidance on my dreams and how I could further my education to achieve those goals. Thinking back to that moment has made me realize the things that I am passionate about in life and what my future will be.

This is Tara exploring the environment outside of the classroom!

Too easily, we tend to think of our teachers (in all aspects of life) as un-reachable or un-relatable but I have found that the faculty within the department have been a great source of knowledge, advice and wisdom. The summer before my senior year at NKU, I took a careers course through the department that allowed me to meet and speak with many individuals in a wide variety of careers, from attorneys, FBI agents, community planners, and even non-profit directors. Part of the assignment for the course was to draft a resume and really reflect on what your personal career goals were which is when I realized how my interests in environmental topics and legislation could easily pan out to become a career.

When I asked myself two weeks ago what my next step would be, I thought about all the great experiences I have had with NKU and the opportunities that I have been fortunate to receive through the University and department and I realized how much I would miss that life, as if it were coming to an end. Today, I believe it is not an “end”; I have been given the tools, resources, advice and strength to make graduation a “beginning” to my career and life. So what is the next step? Where will I be in 6 months? I will continue my education, whether that turns out to be law school or a Masters program in Political Science. More importantly, I will be doing everything I can to make sure that my happiness and the things that I am passionate about are part of my future career.

Selecting the ‘Right’ major

The hardest part of college for me isn’t answering the questions that the professors ask but answering the personal questions that my life asks. I never quite knew how I fit into life until I’ve had to think about my life in perspective and finally decide on the big questions.            

After I finished high school I had little direction and even less motivation to pursue a college education. I had an inkling that I liked to work on cars so that’s what I did – I worked at a body shop and then at a couple dealerships and eventually finished an Automotive Repair certification at Gateway. A recurring theme from the old guys was, “Piece of advice – get out of the business.” Naïve me just thought they were old and crotchety. But I eventually realized – I too would one day be old and crotchety if I stayed in the business for much longer.   

While I was at Gateway I met a truly inspirational person that changed my life. Until this point I hadn’t considered a change of direction and if it wasn’t for this man I would have never considered college. So, I enrolled at NKU and signed up for a program that would use most of my Automotive credits – Career and Technical Education. After a year I lost my job with Saturn and I lost all my interest in an Automotive future – I couldn’t bring myself to become a teacher of a profession that I myself had begun to hate.                                                                             

By this time I desperately needed a change of pace and I chose the most drastic option I could find. I signed with a program called “Teach and Learn with Georgia” which was a program run by the government of the Republic of Georgia which sought to bring 1000 English teachers to Georgia over a five year span. As you might imagine, a post-Soviet country runs shady ESL programs. At first I really thought, what with all the emails and broken English, that this was somehow a major scam that I was getting into. It wasn’t until I stepped off the airplane, after a thirty hour flight, in the Tbilisi airport that I knew this was for real. I was now completely out of my comfort zone and well on my way to a life changing experience.                                                    

Fast forward a year and I’m back at NKU and loving college more than ever before. I became an International Studies major and am enjoying the variety of classes. It combines many different disciplines so it’s always something new. Most of all I actually enjoy my classes now (classes such as International Law; Comparative Electoral Systems; and Russian). When I began college I really felt like I was only doing it because people expected it from me, like, there was no real point to it besides it was just something people had to do. I experienced a paradigm shift – knowledge truly is a beautiful thing. Now, I can really appreciate the access to knowledge I have and I know for sure – no matter what – this opportunity is only the beginning of the adventure.  

 by Jonathan Hess

This photo is of Jonathan and his students in Georgia.