Meet the Majors: Political Science

Name: Sarah Lechak

Major: Political Science

Academic Year: Senior

What is your favorite political science class you have taken and why? My favorite political science class is PS 332: Civil Rights and Liberties with Dr. Kreider because the topics and Supreme Court cases we learned were extremely relevant to our current political climate. It also made me love law. 

What is your favorite aspect of political science? My favorite aspect of the major is that the professors are some of the best that I’ve had. Also, there’s a lot of variety with the classes.  

What are you looking forward to this year?  This year I’m looking forward to taking advantage of more opportunities from the department. This includes different trips, presentations and meeting politicians. 

Why did you choose this major?  I chose this major because I’m extremely interested in politics and I wanted to become more educated about government and law. 

What do you hope to achieve from political science?  I hope to use my knowledge in my future job at the Domestic Violence Service Center. This is in regards to helping domestic violence survivors with legal issues, such as PFAs and advice for hearings. I also hope to use this knowledge to possibly go to law school in the future. 

Name: Sarah Phillips

Major: Political Science

Academic Year: Senior

What is your favorite political science class you have taken and why? My favorite political science class that I have taken is PS 312: The US Congress. This class was very informative about the structure of the American Congress and the professor, Dr. Toll, had us do a simulation of the American Senate that helped us build a practical understanding of how Congress worked to compare with what we learned in lectures.

What is your favorite aspect of political science? My favorite aspect about being a political science major is the close community built between the students within the major and with the professors. My education and time spent here at Wilkes as a political science major has been bolstered by the friendships I’ve made with my peers and the support and information provided by the professors.

What are you looking forward to this year?  I am most looking forward to representing Wilkes University this year for Model UN with the rest of my class in New York this year and I am also looking forward to obtaining my degree in political science at the end of this semester.

Why did you choose this major?  I chose to major in political science for two different reasons: 1) I have always been very interested in the American political structure and once I graduated high school I knew it was something I wanted to study further and 2) I am continuing on to law school after Wilkes and felt like a degree in political science could help me with this.

What do you hope to achieve from political science?  I am going to law school and I plan on using my degree in political science to help me when it comes to garnering an understanding of laws in relation to the activities of the American government.

Name: Damien Chmielewski

Major: Political Science

Academic Year: Sophomore

What is your favorite political science class you have taken and why?  I really enjoyed my PS 151: Comparative Politics class with Dr. Andrew Miller. I really enjoyed this class because it opened up my eyes to different political regimes throughout the entire world. I also really enjoyed how the professor, Dr. Miller really cared about his students succeeding in the class. 

What is your favorite aspect of political science? My favorite aspect of this major is that it allows me to demonstrate my leadership abilities. I know a lot about the political world so it definitely allows me to exercise my knowledge within my political science courses. 

What are you looking forward to this year?  I have a general idea of what I want to do with my major but I am hoping to establish what I definitely want to specialize in after my undergraduate studies. 

Why did you choose this major?  I chose political science because I enjoy politics and I wanted to learn more about the theories and understandings of the political world. 

What do you hope to achieve from political science? I hope to eventually go to law school and become a criminal lawyer, as of right now. 

Name: Morgan Steiner

Major: Political Science

Academic Year: Sophomore

What is your favorite political science class you have taken and why? My favorite class so far has been PS 141: Introduction to International Relations. I learned a lot about politics in the world around me and it inspired me to take more courses related to international relations. 

What is your favorite aspect of political science? I love that there is so much flexibility with political science. I can take classes on U.S. politics, global politics or law classes. It has allowed me to branch out and discover what I love about politics. 

What are you looking forward to this year? I’m excited to travel to New York City and represent Malta at the Model UN Conference with my PS 341 class!

Why did you choose this major?  I chose political science because I’ve always been interested in politics. I want to help people and political science provides so many avenues to do exactly that.

What do you hope to achieve from political science? I plan to attend graduate school. My dream job would be something where I can use my knowledge about politics to help people and see the world.