Pathways to Political Science Summer Research Program hosts second cohort of interns

Pathways@GDL is planning for a third cohort in the summer of 2025

August 7, 2024 MIT Department of Political Science MIT Political Science

In June and July, the Global Diversity Lab (GDL) hosted its second cohort of Pathways to Political Science Summer Research interns.  Pathways@GDL is sponsored in partnership with the MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP) and funded by the Center for International Studies and MIT- Africa. Professors Noah Nathan and Ariel White led the Pathways@GDL visit.

Pathways@GDL is aimed at broadening the pipeline into US political science PhD programs. Undergraduates from universities in Puerto Rico, Texas, Minnesota, Virginia and Massachusetts and two current masters’ students at universities in Ghana mixed research assistant work and their own independent research projects, professionalizing their presentation of research and exchanging information with each other and Department of Political Science faculty.

Those interested in receiving information about becoming a member of the summer of 2025 cohort after it is posted later this year should email Ning Soong at nsoong@mit.edu.

A lively poster session was held on August 2. Clockwise from from upper left:

• The Department of Political Science buzzed with excitement as students, faculty, and staff discussed research performed by the Pathways@GDL Interns.
• Sonia Arthur of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana) describes her poster Assessing Political Distrust and Its Impact on Democratic Erosion: A Public Opinion Analysis of the Kumasi Metropolitan Area.
• Jessica Gallardo of St. Edward’s University (Texas) answers questions posed by Professors Ariel White and Andrea Campbell on her research entitled United States vs. China’s FDI Rivalry in Africa: Examining African Nations’ UN Voting Behavior
• Professor Noah Nathan and Sonia Arthur pose for a class portrait.
• An additional class portrait was taken, this one by the Charles River includes Natasha Romero Moskala, Jessica Gallardo, Ha (Joey) Do (MSRP intern), Mohammed Atampuri, Paul Nguyen, Amaya Martinez, Sonia Arthur and Bryan Melendez-Garcia.
• Amaya Martinez of Amherst College (Massachusetts) highlights the graphics on his poster The Impact of Drug Cartel Presence on Implementation of Judicial Reform in Mexico.
• Professor Daniel Hidalgo discusses one of the finer points of Bryan Meléndez-Garcia’s poster “Impact of Constitutional Reforms on Poverty Rates: A Case Study of Bolivia’s Indigenous Populations.” He attends University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez.
• Paul Nguyen of Macalester College (Minnesota) prepares to answer a question from Professor Devin Caughey.
• Mohammed Atampuri of the University of Ghana examines his poster The Impact of Monetary Policy on the Performance of the Agricultural Sector in Ghana with Professor Mai Hassan.
• Natasha Romero Moskala of Virginia Commonwealth University explains the methods used in her poster “Electoral Fraud in Venezuela? Examining the 2013 Presidential Election.”
• Center left: Paul Nguyen poses for a class portrait with Professor Ariel White.
• Center right: MIT PhD student and MSRP Pod Leader Liaison Carla Garcia poses for a class portrait with Natasha Romero Moskala (front row) and Jessica Gallardo and Sonia Arthur (second row).