McNair Scholars Program

This article was originally featured  on the University of Minnesota's Political Science website on November 5, 2025. After beginning her college career with an interest in clinical psychology, Caitlyn Barrett returned for graduate school to further explore the relationship between poverty and political participation. Today, as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, she’s examining how early-life experiences shape political behavior in adulthood. Photo courtesy of Caitlyn Barrett....

This article was originally featured  on the University of Minnesota's Political Science website on November 24, 2025. Amina Hasan, a senior double majoring in political science and Spanish, had long wanted to study politics because of her lived experience in the Middle East. Her choice to study political science was further solidified after taking POL 1001: American Democracy in a Changing World her freshman year with Professor Scott Abernathy. She said she "loved the class, enjoyed his...

This article was originally featured  on the University of Minnesota's Political Science website on March 17, 2022. Political science and...