As a Political Science Professor,
what I try to do is find out what a student wants to do that can help change the world
and then help find an experience that can get them started on that.
Here at Wichita State University, our Political Science department is a small department
with small class sizes but we as faculty get to
know our students very well.
I had a lot of close relationships with my
professors and individualized attention,
whether it was choosing my classes or looking for internships and jobs,
I really always felt like they wanted me to succeed
and had the resources and time to really help me with those things.
At Wichita State, our Political Science department is a little different than other places
because we focus very strongly on getting students
practical experience while they're undergraduate.
So we have students interning in Topeka, our
state capital.
Washington D.C., our national capital.
And also doing lots of community work here
in Wichita.
The internship program, it's really just an opportunity to connect students with practical experience
and it's really exciting that Wichita State has something
has a program that's willing to pay to send students to get a political experience that isn't
in a classroom setting.
It's one of the most exciting experiences
no matter what your political swing is.
To just talk to someone who's doing exactly
what you want to be doing in the future,
it's really exciting and that's been my favorite networking opportunity so far.
I had the opportunity to meet with legislators,
other political staff members, lobbyists,
folks kind of at every level in every sphere
of public service.
I think it's a broad enough degree that you're
able to expand to different areas
because it teaches you so much, specifically like
reading and writing.
But then you can also go into law enforcement
if you choose to do so
or you can go into policy if you choose to do so,
you can become a lobbyist,
there are just so many avenues that you can take that, I think compared to other majors,
arguably probably of the best ones to go into the workforce with.
Our major also prepares people for any kind
of job that makes you think, makes you write,
makes you care about the people around you.
Because politics is really just about how we're going to live together
with the people that are in our community at any given time,
so our students are ready to help make that work.
