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Political Science Student Awards 2020!

Graduates in Red Square

Undergraduate Awards 2020


Daniel S. Lev Award – Sabrina Suen

The Lev Award is given annually to the best honors thesis. It is named after Professor Daniel Lev, an influential scholar of comparative politics and Southeast Asian politics and a principal architect of the departmental honors program.

This year's Lev award recipient is Sabrina Suen. As a Taiwanese American, the nuances of Taiwan's complicated relationship with China has always fascinated Sabrina and is also a catalyst for her interest in political science and international relations. Throughout her undergraduate career, Sabrina was involved with various on-campus organizations that focused on important international issues. Most notably, she served as President for the Model United Nations club at UW. Through her role, she attended and staffed various international and local conferences where she was able to gain a better understanding of and appreciation for the dynamics of the international community.

This fall, Sabrina will be attending UW Law School as a Gregoire Fellow. This unique opportunity will offer her the chance to receive mentorship from former governor Christine Gregiore and to intern at a variety of local law firms, government agencies, and corporations. As a future law student, Sabrina hopes to study international business law and continue to learn about Asian law and government.

Robert A. Dahl Award – Kathryn Karcher

The Dahl Award is given to the outstanding graduating senior in Political Science. It is named after Robert Dahl, who received his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Washington, and went on to become one of the most acclaimed political scientists of the 20th century.

Kathryn is graduating with departmental honors in Political Science and with minors in the History of Race, Gender, and Power; Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies; and Diversity. Their interests are in social movements and feminist political theory. Specifically, their honors thesis focuses on how transforming U.S. welfare policies can help undermine women’s oppression. Their other research projects have been in the Labor Studies Department, for which they received the award for Best Undergraduate Paper in Labor Studies. They are particularly passionate about how research, policy, and activism can help those most impacted by white supremacy, misogyny, and racial capitalism. Kathryn has decided to pursue a PhD in one of the fields that they studied. They attribute this decision to the guidance and support they received from Chelsea Moore, Scott Lemieux, Christine DiStefano, and Chris Parker, to whom they are eternally grateful.

Sharon S. Redeker Award for Public Service – Tania Algebori

The Redeker Award recognizes significant undergraduate achievement in the area of public service. It is named after Sharon Redeker, who served as the Department’s Director of Academic Services for 17 years and built the department’s internship and volunteer service programs.

Tania’s mother taught her from a very young age to always share food if a friend or classmate asked for some. She uses her mother’s lesson about sharing to guide her service and to remind herself to always put the community first. She has particularly focused on developing rights and advocacy for campus womxn, supporting people who have experienced sexual assault or relationship violence, and creating workshops and education about consent for high school and college students. As part of the UW student government she has served as the project manager for the Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Activists group for the last three years. Tania has been able to link what she is learning in class with her service work by exploring “how structural and societal factors can create situations.” Tania has been pursuing a Political Science major with an option in International Security. Whether it is very personal experiences, or the broader issues of international security, Tania has shown an ability to analyze the situation at hand so as to positively influence the world we all inhabit.


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