Master of Arts in Political Science

Zach Ward (Class of 2010) Zach graduated from Campbell university in 2008 with BA in Government. During his first year at ASU he has worked with Dr. Ardoin and Dr. Newmark as a Teaching Assistant for their Introduction to American Politics course. Zach will teach his own section of American Government in the Fall of 2009. After completing his MA Degree, he plans to pursue a Ph.D. American Politics and become a professor of political science.

Stefka Yordanova (Class of 2009) Stefka is originally from Sofia, Bulgaria and she completed her BA in Political Science from the New Bulgarian University in 2007. She has studied at Otto-Friedrich University in Bamberg Germany and the Georgetown Political Science summer school in Prague, Czech Republic. Before joining our MA Program, Stefka worked as a researcher with the GfK-Bulgaria Marketing Research Company. Since joining the ASU community, Stefka has served as a residence hall director and is fast becoming an American Football fanatic. After graduating, she is looking forward to working with an NGO in the United States or abroad.

Erica Palmer (Class of 2009) Erica earned her BS in Political Science at ASU with a concentration in American Government and a minor in Sociology. Erica’s MA Thesis examined the political activism of Appalachian women involved in the anti-mountaintop removal campaign. In the process of completing her thesis, Erica visited the homes of female activists throughout the Appalachian region to better understand the factors which initiated their decisions to become activists, Erica’s interest in this topic was initiated by her work with a local environmental organization, Appalachian Voices. She continues to work at Appalachian Voices and is looking to move to DC in the upcoming year.

Logan Roise (Class of 2009) Logan completed his Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from ASU in 2007. While completing his MA degree, Logan has worked at the State Employees Credit Union and has become an active member of the local Democratic Party. He currently serves as Treasurer for the Watauga County Young Democrats. His plans for future employment are really just to get a job, but he is hoping to work for the Department of State as a Foreign Service officer. He also would not mind serving as U.S. Secretary of State, President or host of The Daily Show.

Katy Godwin (Class of 2009) Katy earned her BA in Political Science from Augusta State University in 2007. She has worked with Dr. Curtis Ryan as his research assistant while pursuing her MA Degree and has also participated in volunteer work in Senegal and the Gambia for Operation Crossroads Africa. Her thesis topic is Democratization and Development in the Gambia. After graduation Katy is hoping to work for the US State Department as a Foreign Service Officer and plans to eventually return to academia to pursue a PhD in Comparative Politics.

Sambuddha Ghatak (Class of 2008) Sambuddha is originally from Malda, West Bengal, India and was awarded the ASU Chancellor’s Fellowship in 2007 and 2008. Before coming to ASU, he completed a MA Degree in Political Science at the University of North Bengal in West Bengal, India and worked as a teacher at Manikchak High School in Malda, India. His MA thesis at ASU examined the implications on human rights of the caste system in India. In addition to his thesis research, Sam co-authored a published Book Review with Dr. Ike Udogu for the journal African and Asian Studies. Sam has recently returned to India to spend time with his family, but will return to the states in the Fall of 2009 to pursue his PhD in International Relations.

Meri Ellen Lynott (Class of 2008) Meri Ellen is currently a faculty member in the Department of History and Political Science at Guilford Technical Community College. She is also in the process of applying to several PhD programs in Comparative Politics. Meri Ellen grew up in Virginia and completed her BA in History and International Studies in 2002 at Elon University. She also earned a MA degree in History in 2004 at UNC-Greensboro before entering the ASU Graduate Program.

Justin Kirkland (Class of 2007) Justin is a second year Ph.D student at UNC Chapel Hill studying American Politics and Political Methodology. He graduated in 2003 from Campbell University with a degree in government. After spending a few years working on a variety of political campaigns, he returned to academia to pursue his master's degree at ASU. His ASU Master’s thesis examined issue saliency and its impact on interest group access to congressional committees. After completing his PhD at UNC, he hopes to find a tenure track job at a major research university somewhere in the Northeast or Southeast. Justin’s personal website is www.unc.edu/~jhkirkla/

Amanda Zeddy (Class of 2007) Amanda is currently working on her PhD. in Political Science at the University of California at Santa Barbara and completing a co-authored book with Andy Koch who was her MA Advisor at ASU. The book examines the role of technology and administration on human subjectivity, and how that in turn effects mass democracy and the possibilities of deliberation and decision-making within that context. Amanda is originally from Detroit, MI and graduated from ASU with honors in 2005. While completing her MA at ASU she worked with Dr. Koch as a research assistant and also taught PS 1100 Introduction to American Government. After completing her PhD at UCSB, she plans to return to Boone and steal Andy Koch’s position – seriously she plans to find a tenure track position at a university.

Jason Harold Windett (Class of 2007) Jason is originally from Georgetown, DE and he completed his BA in Political Science at Catawba College in 2005. While completing his MA degree at ASU, he taught two of his own sections of PS 1100 and presented his own research at the NCPSA and the SPSA conferences. His thesis examined the influence of environmental factors on presidential power in the legislative arena. He is currently a second year PhD student at UNC Chapel Hill and his dissertation topic is on state contextual effects on gender and minority candidates for gubernatorial primary and general elections. Jason’s future plans are to teach and continue researching American Politics at which ever university will hire me. Hometown- Georgetown, Delaware.

Paul Funderburk (Class of 2006) Paul completed his BS in Criminal Justice with honors at ASU in 2004. While completing his MA Degree, Paul actively participated in the ASU Chapter of the ACLU and also taught several sections of Introduction to American Government. His thesis provided a case study of student activists in the undergraduate chapters of the North Carolina ACLU. Following graduation he utilized the findings of his MA Thesis and continued his work with the ACLU by serving as a Youth Outreach Coordinator with the NC ACLU. After a short period with the NC ACLU he was accepted a promotion as a Field Organizer for the ACLU of West Virginia. In August of 2007 Paul returned to North Carolina to work for the NC Prisoner Legal Services and as a field organizer for the NC Democratic Party. Paul’s future plans are to continue being involved in politics at the local, state and national level, perhaps even seeking elected office in the next decade.

Lara Crook Wrightson (Class of 2006) Lara is currently an adjunct professor of political science at Gainesville State College in Oakwood, GA. Lara completed her BA in 2003 at Mars Hill College in Asheville, NC and currently lives in Flowery Branch, GA. She plans to continue teaching at the university level, but will consider selling her soul for a job in the banking or insurance industry if for some reason she can’t continue teaching.