2019 American Politics Students

Nader Alhomsi '19

A senior at The College of William and Mary majoring in Accounting with a concentration in Consulting. Currently an applicant of the Master in Accountancy program, where he hopes to attain the credits and skills necessary to sit for the CPA exam. Nader was born in Connecticut but raised in Damascus, Syria. He feels that the program will help in solidifying some of his beliefs while introducing him to new points of view. He hopes to build a network with individuals that will be mutually beneficial as he enters the workforce in one of the big four accounting firms. 

Sarah Ball '21

Sarah Ball is a Sophomore at William and Mary. She is from Mechanicsville, VA and is double majoring in Public Policy and Economics. Sarah is a member of the Sailing Team, RUF, and works with Varsity Field Hockey. She worked on Scott Taylor’s congressional campaign this past fall and interned with The Virginia Rural Center this past summer.

Sam Berkrot '19

Sam Berkrot is a senior at the College of William and Mary majoring in Government and Sociology with a concentration in Social Problems, Justice, and Policy. On campus, Sam is the President of Amnesty International at William and Mary and Seventh Grade Sketch Comedy, and is  an executive member in Sigma Pi Fraternity and Front Porch Society, a music club. Sam is looking to go into advocacy, non-profit, or production work after graduation.

Esteban Bermudez '20

Esteban is a junior here at the college, majoring in International Relations and minoring in Economics. Originally from Mexico City, Mexico but has lived in Miami, Florida and Philadelphia, PA prior to attending W&M. Esteban is fluent in both Spanish and English. On campus, I am the president for Club Tennis. He is incredibly excited to participate in this program. Esteban has always wanted to spend time in DC and is excited to learn more about the US government.

Lea Booth '19

Lea is a senior and recently declared a Government major and a Music minor. In addition to studying and singing, Lea is a finance intern with Elaine Luria’s campaign for Congress in Virginia’s 2^nd Congressional district. During his freshman and sophomore years, Lea led William and Mary’s chapter of Virginia21, a statewide advocacy organization for young people and really enjoyed motivating students and talking to legislators on Virginia21’s Lobby Day. Through the WM Winter in DC program, Lea hopes to learn more about careers in advocacy and the civil service and love that the course material relates to both!

Esther Bouquet '19

Joe Dowell '20

Riley Ford '20

Riley Ford is a junior, double-majoring in Public Policy and Economics from Richmond, Virginia, and is specifically interested in special interests groups and their role in American politics. She has worked with environmental interest groups in the past, and is interested in environmental policy work and its challenges at the state, local, and national levels. She is an intern with the Office of Sustainability, and also works as a dining intern for the dining service on campus, looking into sustainable food policies and programs. Outside of her sustainability work, she also is employed as a research assistant looking into regulatory delay in Virginia. After college, she plans to get her Masters in Public Policy and is considering law school. She looks forward to studying in DC and expanding her understanding of the many interconnected processes of politics of our government. 

Karan Gupta '20

Karan is a junior at William and Mary majoring in Government. He lived in Stamford, Connecticut till the age of eight, after which he moved to Bangalore, India. He graduated from The International School Bangalore with an International Baccalaureate diploma. 

Karan’s chief passion has long been for American and global politics. When his family moved to India, he took advantage of this incredible opportunity to consider American politics through the philosophies of American and other cultures.

Karan enjoys traveling, reading, tennis and writing papers on political issues and is a history buff. He has travelled in the US, Canada, Asia, Africa and Europe. He is currently a member of College Republicans on campus and Alpha Lambda Delta & Phi Eta Sigma First-Year Student Honor Societies.

Karan has interned at Thomson Reuters with the News and Editorial team based in Bangalore and a Pharmaceutical company based in Mumbai. He will be an intern with TRADOC (US Army Training and Doctrine Command) in Spring 2019.

He hopes to work in politics and is looking forward to learning more about career opportunities through this program.

Tsion Hagos '21

Tsion is a sophomore here at the college and is an International Student from Ababa, Ethiopia. Tsion is thinking about double majoring in Economics and Government. On campus Tsion is a part of African Cultural Society, Building Tomorrow, UNICEF W&M, and the Student Assembly Election committee. Tsion has volunteered to be an international student peer-leader during orientation, helping new international students settle in to William & Mary. Tsion is excited to spend the winter break in Washington D.C. studying American Politics and interacting with other students and professionals working in politics.   

Ben Lambert '19

Zach Lipkin '20

Grant Luisi '21

My name is Grant Luisi, and I am a sophomore at the College majoring in Computational and Applied Mathematics and Statistics (CAMS) and minoring in Classical Studies. I am from Vienna, Virginia, just outside of DC. On campus, I am involved in leadership in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship as well as the International Justice Mission club (IJM). In my free time I enjoy playing on the Men’s Ultimate Frisbee B team, hiking, camping, and pretty much anything outdoors. I am very excited for this opportunity to explore American politics in Washington and I look forward to meeting all of my fellow William and Mary students!

Jina Nam '20

Daphne Pettaway '19

Brett Restrick '21

Brett is a sophomore at William and Mary pursuing a major in Government and a minor in either Philosophy or Psychology. Brett is from New York City and attended high school at Poly Prep in Brooklyn, NY. On campus Brett works for Phonathon and am the Vice President of Finance for Pi Beta Phi sorority. Brett is super excited to participate in this program. She has never had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. and cannot wait to spend winter break there and learn more about the U.S. government.

Nami Srikanth '19

Nami is a psychology and sociology major with a concentration in criminology. She wants to go into law enforcement because she loves the process of investigative work and how you need to constantly look at the bigger picture.  She is a member of the class of 2019, the Delta Delta Delta sorority and a Blaze pizza groupie. She loves learning more about society and people and how it impacts us in our every day life. Being in the city excites me because there is constantly something new to see and somebody with a story to tell- plus DC has the best museums!

Minhang Xu '21