Meet the 2023-2024 McGlennon Scholars
The William & Mary Government Department provides students with a wealth of research opportunities through labs and scholarships. One specific fellowship, the McGlennon Scholars Program, provides junior and senior Government majors with significant scholarship aid in order to support theirundergraduate study. This year, three scholars were selected. Each one is pursuing a unique research topic inspired by their education at W&M.
Caroline Callahan's interest in political saliency was piqued by Professor Jamie Settle’s Social Networks and Political Psychology Lab (SNaPP). Caroline plans to research the public saliency of political movements and how this affects political candidates, specifically regarding how they speak about these political issues, whether from their own perspective or from their perceptions of their voter base. Caroline is especially excited about the timeliness of her project as the 2024 Presidential Election approaches.
Justin Horowitz is interested in Southeast Asian security issues. Justin turned his research attention to civil-military relations in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) due to what he perceives as a gap in this research area. Justin is interested in potentially conducting field studies in safer, neighboring countries to learn how individuals are affected by the situation. He plans to incorporate this research into an honors thesis that he anticipates will lead to a career in academia as a professor of Government.
Ariana He is passionate about domestic welfare. She is currently gathering data for a project on Medicaid and Medicare dually eligible beneficiaries. Ariana’s research is inspired by the various classes she has taken with Professor Howard. Ariana was excited to learn about domestic welfare, but due to W&M’s big focus on International Relations, she has exhausted her class options on that subject. Ariana hopes that her research will provide opportunities to further her knowledge on domestic issues beyond course offerings on this topic.
The McGlennon Scholars are each provided with outstanding financial support, all from an anonymous donor. A yearly scholarship is roughly $10,000 and renewable for juniors who wish to continue researching in their senior year. The scholars all felt that this funding is opening doors for them. Caroline commented, “Not all institutions have these opportunities. I am really grateful that William & Mary puts an emphasis on undergraduate research and supports its students with many options.” Justin remarked on the difficulty of getting into research and said that this scholarship money removes paywalls and helps him access materials and opportunities that aren’t freely available. Ariana agreed and added, “[Donors] have no clue how much their support means to us...Having someone who is willing to pay me money to do research means a lot to me. It is not only important financially, but it also acknowledges my research and sends the message that my work matters.”
