Western Political Science Association Conference 2019

Lana Lief, Class of 2019 (pictured back row, second from right)

I sat on a panel at WPSA with one other member, a discussant, and the chair. Because there were only two of us on the panel both the chair and the discussant read our papers and gave us feedback. I received very positive feedback from both of them and they asked me questions that made me want to continue my research after Soka. The discussant on my panel said that my capstone felt like the beginning of a PhD dissertation and she hoped that I would continue my research. Before WPSA I had no intention of continuing my research and now I would like to. A week or so after the panel the journal of International Relations and Diplomacy (ISSN2328-2134, doi:  10.17265/2328-2134/) emailed me expressing interest in publishing my paper. That was another great ego boost. Thank you so much for working with Peter Burns to create this opportunity for us, it has had an extremely positive impact on my development as a scholar.

Sofia Torres, Class of 2019 (pictured back row, right)

The WPSA conference was the first conference I have attended as an undergraduate student. I attended four panels and was refreshed by the research that others presented. It was a very informative experience to hear about topics of study that are not typical to the SUA community such as the politics of female leaders and the influence of media on education. During the poster session, I learned from other students and received feedback and questions about my research. Overall, I had a great experience and hope that this opportunity is given to more SUA students in the future.