What department are you a graduate student in?

I’m a member of the political science department.

Why did you decide to go to graduate school?

This is my second round of graduate school. I have an MA in International Studies from University of San Francisco that gave me a strong qualitative foundation, but I knew that my career goals would require me to get a better quantitative training. FSU’s political science department has a great reputation for that so it made my decision to come back to school even easier to make.

Did your interests change throughout your program?

I would say that my research interests have more been refined than changed. I knew that I wanted to focus on political extremism in some way coming in, but through engaging with the literature and faculty here I have a better understand of what interested me in the topic in the first place. Now I’m building the skills to be able to conduct my own research in the field. My research interests are now more focused on extreme political parties and issues surrounding institutional permissiveness and political participation.

What do you want to do with your advanced degree?

My dream job is to become a full tenured professor someday. I want to research and teach. I also hope that my research will have a practical application and be useful to policymakers and NGO’s. I am also interested in teaching abroad.