2015

Department of Political Science & Sociology

STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS PREPARING FOR CAREERS BY ENGAGING OUR WORLD

T he Department continues to offer exciting courses

and programs in international affairs to engage

students in cultural immersion, international service, and

global learning. Professor Bordelon led thirteen students on

a European study tour of international law and politics

during winter break. Students attended lectures studying the

history of the British government, the formation of

professional legal associations in the United Kingdom, the

plight of refugees and international humanitarian law and

also the political structure of the European Union. Students

applied what they learned on the European tour in the

International Service Seminar class in the spring semester of

2015.

TEN DEPARTMENT GRADUATES HEADING TO LAW SCHOOL IN THE FALL OF 2015

Jenna Ferraro’15

Drexel University Law School

Meaghan Hess’15

Gonzaga University Law School

Eric Romanowski’15

Pace University Law School

Jacqueline Corsentino’15

Rutgers-Camden Law School

Matthew Lang’15

Duke University Law School

The department is home to a political

science-legal studies concentration as well as minors in legal studies and

social justice. Extra-curricular law based activities include: a mock trial team, a

debate team, a model UN team, and

the pre-law club.

James Creech’15

Pace University Law School

Kimberly Wood’15

New York Law School

Daniel Roman’15 Seton Hall

University Law School

Elizabeth Anderson’14

George Washington University Law

School

Miriam Peguero’13

Northwestern University Law

School

MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY

Page 2 DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE & SOCIOLOGY

The Department had 15 students participate in the

Washington Semester program. The students were

placed in the following offices: 1) Dan Roman, The

White House; 2) Jim Creech, U.S. Department of the

Interior; 3) Ashtin Brinkerhoff, Jacques and Associ-

ates; 4) Ryan Kelly, Institute of World Politics; 5) Iziah

Thompson, Amara Legal Center; 6) Ashley Medina, Re-

store America’s Estuaries; 7) Tyler Vandergrift, Shia

Rights Watch; 8) Sarah Mustafa, Empowered Women

International; 9) Michael Hamilton, Jacques and Asso-

ciates; 10) Katrina Boyle, Close Up Foundation; 11)

Zak Irizarry, U.S. Marshals Service; 12) Susie Esmail,

U.S. Marshals Service; 13) Michael Kulik U.S. Marshals

Service; 14) Payal Patal, SeraphimGLOBAL; and 15)

Sydney Underhill, NARAL-Pro-Choice America.

Several of the students are featured below.

A special congratulations to political science major

Michael Hamilton on receiving the TOMO DAIICHI

GENERATION PROJECT AWARD while working in

Washington for developing a practical and relevant

civic engagement project to help those negatively

impacted by the Fukushimi Daiichi nuclear disaster. In

a national contest, his group was one of two teams to

win an all expense paid trip to Japan to consult with

Japanese public officials on strategies for improving

conditions in the region.

Political Science Student Interns in White House

R yan Kelly’15 is a three-year award winning member of the MU Debate Team. After interning in the

spring at the Washington Semester for the Institute of World Politics, Ryan was accepted to the

Masters in Political Science programs at the London School of Economics (LSE), Boston College

and American University. This fall he will begin graduate work at the London School of Economics, which

is ranked number three in the World Table for graduate studies in political science.

A shtin Brinkerhoff’15 was hired as the office manager and legal assistant for the DC-based law

firm Marzulla Law. She is excited for this employment opportunity and the chance to remain in DC

following her semester-long experience at the Washington Center where she interned for the lob-

bying firm Jacques and Associates. Her ultimate goal is to attend Navy Officer Candidate School, which

involves a lengthy application process (up to a year). Her general career goal is to become an intelligence

officer. She took the Aviation Selection Test Battery and the Officer Aptitude Rating Exam, and scored well

on the piloting sections. The Navy is now inquiring if she might consider becoming an aviator or flight

officer. She has applied to both.

D an Roman’15 is seen here on President Obama’s basketball court. He

interned for President Obama in the White House during the spring of 2015 as

part of the Washington Semester program. He will start law school at Seton

Hall University in the fall of 2015. Dan served as the captain of Monmouth University’s

policy debate team for three years and competed in 16 debate tournaments over his

four year college career. He received a number of debate team and individual awards

from prestigious universities across the country. He also served as the President of the

Pre-Law Club and the Political Science Club and competed for two years on the moot

court team while at Monmouth.

J ames Creech’15 is seen here with U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, senator from the state of Oregon.

Jim interned at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Jim will be attending Pace University Law

School in the fall on a full scholarship. His honors paper on the politics of natural gas received the

Jane Freed Award and will be published in the fall of 2015.

15 STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN THE WASHINGTON SEMESTER PROGRAM IN 2015

Page 3 DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE & SOCIOLOGY

M ichael Hamilton’15 interned at the lobbying firm of Jacques and Associates. He was a

member of the debate and moot court teams. Michael graduated in the spring of 2015 and is

preparing for graduate school. He received the TOMO DAIICHI GENERATION PROJECT

AWARD in Japan. He helped develop a relevant civic engagement project to help those negatively

impacted by the Fukushimi Nuclear Reactor Disaster in Japan. In a national contest his group of Japa-

nese and American students won an all-expense paid trip to the Tohoku Region to consult with Japanese

public officials.

K atrina Boyle’15 poses here with political activist Ralph Nader. She interned during the spring

Washington Semester at the Close Up Foundation which informs, inspires and empowers young

people to exercise the rights and accept the responsibilities of citizens in a democracy. Katrina

graduated in the spring of 2015, is pursuing career opportunities and is planning on attending graduate

school in the near future.

M ichael Kulik’15 interned during his Washington Semester in the U.S. Marshals Service. He was

a member of the MU debate team for two years. Mike graduated in the spring of 2015 and was

recently hired by the New Jersey State Police.

T yler Vandergrift’15 interned at the Shia Rights Watch in Washington, D.C. He graduated in the

spring of 2015 and is currently employed with the same organization.

A shley Medina’15 interned in Washington, D.C. at Restore America’s Estuaries. She graduated in

the spring of 2015 and will begin graduate work at Monmouth University this fall.

S usie Esmail’15 interned during her Washington Semester in the U.S. Marshals Service. She

graduated in the spring of 2015 and is currently pursuing a position as a criminal analyst for a law

enforcement agency.

P ayal Patal ’16 interned at SeraphimGLOBAL which is a non-profit organization that does research

on Human Trafficking and Healthcare policies in El Salvador, Lebanon, and the United States.

Payal is an award wining member of the debate team and a member of the Student Government

Association. She will be graduating in the coming year.

S ydney Underhill interned during her Washington Semester at NARAL-Pro-Choice America. Sydney

is an award winning pitcher for the Monmouth University softball team. She will graduate in the

coming year and will be attending graduate school.

Page 4 DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE & SOCIOLOGY

DEBATE TEAM COMPETES ON NATIONAL STAGE AND COACHES ASBURY PARK TEAM

T he Debate Team received 10

awards at the Western

Novice Debate Championship at

Sacramento State University in Sac-

ramento, Cal i fornia in mid -

March. Ryan Kelly took a first place

speaking award and Sana Rashid

took a third place award. Ryan and

Sana also took a second place team

award after losing on a 2-1 vote to

the University of Washington in the

final round. The team also won

awards at debate tournaments at

the West Point Military Academy,

D r. Charles Cotton as

advisor of the 2015 MU

Model UN Team took

students for the week long National

Model United Nations Conference in

New York City. Students served on

ten different UN Committees

representing the country of Guinea.

Areas of focus ranged from

women's rights and nuclear

proliferation to the current events

surrounding the war in Syria and the

status of Palestine.

I n only its second year, the

Monmouth moot court pro-

g r a m h a s g r o w n i n

membership, poising the students

to excel in future competitions as

part of the American Collegiate

Moot Court Association (ACMA).

The Monmouth moot court team

was invited to compete in the

American Collegiate Moot Court

Association (ACMA) National

Invitational Tournament in

Chicago, IL hosted by the

University of Chicago. Legal

studies juniors Joe Talafous and

Nick Whittaker represented

Monmouth in the competitive field.

I n its third year, the Monmouth

mock trial team had success in

the fall invitational season with

its first individual attorney award. At

the Third Annual “Hooter” Invitation-

al hosted by Temple University,

Sophomore Josh Manning took

home a first place individual award

for both his performance as a wit-

ness as well as his role as a plaintiff

attorney. Monmouth hosted the in-

augural Jersey Shore “Hawk” Mock

Trial Invitational and teams from

Maine, Florida, Wisconsin, New York

and New Jersey competed with Car-

leton College winning 1st place.

MOCK TRIAL TEAM MODEL UN MOOT COURT

West Virginia University, and at the

5th Annual Jersey Shore Invitational

hosted on our campus. Debate

teams from 15 universities com-

peted at the Monmouth tournament.

Team members run debate

practices every Tuesday afternoon

at Asbury Park High School and

accompany the Asbury kids to

tournaments in New York City as

part of the Urban Debate League.

Above MU debaters Angela Ryan,

Saliha Younas, Sana Rashid,

Danielle Doud, and Samah Khalifa

celebrate with the Asbury

debaters after the team took a

first place award in March of 2015

in Queens, New York. The six-year

debate mentorship program was

featured on Fios TV news and on

the front page of the Asbury Park

Press. The mentorship program

also received a commendation

from State Senator Jennifer Beck

and the Asbury Park Town

Council. The program is fully fund-

ed through a debate grant

provided by TD Bank.

Page 5 DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE & SOCIOLOGY

James Creech ’15 won The Jane Freed Award for one of the top research papers in the Honors School.

Michelle Grushko’16 will present her thesis, "#Hillary: Social Media and Female Leaders in the United States," at the

Northeastern Political Science Association’s 2015 meeting.

Brandon Johnson ’15 will present his thesis "Presidential Signing Statements: Tools of Polarization," at the Northeast-

ern Political Science Association’s 2015 meeting.

Justine Longa ’16 was awarded the Esther Hymer Scholarship from the county branch of the American Association of

University Women (AAUW).

Dylan Maynard ’14 had his undergrad thesis on the history of corruption in India accepted for publication in the Fall

2014 issue of the Journal of Undergraduate International Studies, published by the University of Wisconsin Madison.

Lexi Todd ’13 had her article on the default of Argentina's debt published in the Brooklyn Law Review.

ALUMS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Brandon Johnson’15

Interning at Coali-tion for Peace and

applying for graduate school

Jacob Lawrence’15 Attending MU for Masters in Public

Policy

Michael Mello’15

Working for Diversent, a Red

Bank—based staffing firm

Christopher Miller’15 Working for

Disability Rights New Jersey

Miguel Nunez’15

Teaching English for Gaba Instruc-tional Program in

Tokyo, Japan

Susan Pagano’15

Attending MU for a Masters in Public

Policy

Kelsey Reece’15 Attending

graduate school at the University

of Cincinnati

Tevrin Brandon’14 Cornerback for

the NFL’s Denver Broncos

Amanda Kryzynski’14 Peace Corps.,

Philippines

Dylan Maynard’14

Attending the NYU Masters Program in World History

Sam Maynard’14

Attending graduate school at

Georgetown University

Jessica Roberts’14

Attending Rutgers for Masters in PS concentration in

UN & Global Policy

Jennifer Sime’14

Auditor for the New York State Department of

Health

Arielle Giordano’12

Law Clerk at U.S. Senate Committee

on the Judiciary

Brandon Karkovice’12

Program Development Manager at

Alliance for Con-sumer Education

in D.C.

Donald McCarthy’12 Graduated Cum Laude with a JD

from Buffalo Law School. Working as a law clerk for

the Superior Court of NJ

Jessica Rohr’12 ’14

Aide to New Jersey Governor

Chris Christie

Morganne Firmstone’11,’13

Public Affairs Manager for

JerseyCAN, a non-profit in the education policy

sector

Samantha Stillo’11

Law Clerk to Honorable Joseph W.

Oxley

Tracy Olski ’09 Probation

Division, NJ Judiciary, Ocean County Supreme

Court

Amanda Doremus

(Schmidt)’04 Valley Point

Concrete

DEPARTMENT NEWS

Page 6

Full Time Faculty:

Gregory Bordelon, JD Lecturer, Political Science

Rekha Datta, PhD Professor, Political Science

Johanna Foster, PhD

Assistant Professor, Sociology

Director of Sociology & Gender Studies Program

Jennifer McGovern, PhD Lecturer, Sociology

Kenneth Mitchell, PhD Associate Professor, Political Science

Joseph Patten, PhD Associate Professor, Political Science Chair

Saliba Sarsar, PhD Professor, Political Science

Kevin Dooley, PhD Associate Professor, Political Science

Kathryn Kloby, PhD Associate Professor, Political Science Director, MA Public Policy

Nancy Mezey, PhD Associate Professor, Sociology

Steven Chapman, PhD Assistant Professor, Political Science

F ormer New Jersey Governor

James J. Florio who served as

New Jersey's 49th governor was

Monmouth University's 2014-15

Public Servant in Residence. Through-

out the year, he engaged with the

campus community through

presentations, class discussions and

chairing a panel on affordable health

care. This was a unique opportunity

for our students to meet and learn

from a prominent political figure.

C ongratulations to our students who

graduated with Department Honors in

2015: Ashtin Brinkerhoff, Jacquelyn Corsentino,

James Creech, Jenna Ferraro, Brandon Johnson,

Danielle Marzilla, & Ashley Medina.

C ongratulations to our students award

recipients in 2015.

Political Science Academic Award: Susan Pagano

Sociology Academic Award: Leila Ali

Political Science Club Leadership Award: Michelle Grushko

Sociology Club Leadership Award: Rachel Murphy &

Danielle Zabihialam

Debate Team Leadership Award: Dan Roman & Michelle

Grushko

Model UN Leadership Award: Saliha Younas

Tom Crane Service Award: Sandra Meola

Elvin R. Simmil Memorial Award: Jacquelyn Corsentino

Newsletter compiled by Kristen Gillette . For more information about the Department of Political Science & Sociology,

please visit http://www.monmouth.edu/school-of-humanities-social-sciences/political-science-and-sociology.aspx

Enoch Nappen, PhD Associate Professor, Political Science

Former NJ Governor James J. Florio with Michelle

Grushko, Dan Roman, Ryan Kelly, and Samah Khalifa