MIPSA Statewide Award Recognizes Kalamazoo Valley Honors Program Students

Two of Kalamazoo Valley's Honors Program students were chosen as finalists for the Michigan Political Science Association's (MIPSA) Undergraduate Student Paper Award during the Annual MIPSA Conference from Oct. 20 - 21 at Ferris State University.

Twenty-five-year-old D. Pitts of Kalamazoo was awarded first place for her paper submission titled, "Not by Right but The Hand of Power: Land Policy and the American Revolution."

"I feel very honored to be recognized like this," said Pitts. "I spent a lot of time in my younger years viewing American history as somehow boring or less exciting than the history of the rest of the globe, but this was another topic that clearly displayed that my understanding was not accurate and there was so much more to learn. I enjoyed being able to use resources we'd discussed in class while putting the research together, and really fell head-first into reading letters between Founders - whether they had anything to do with my land policy thesis or not."

Additionally, 19-year-old Pearl Steenstra from Portage was honored as a finalist with her submission, titled, "What Effect Would a Universal Access to Higher Education Have in America?"

"I'm grateful that my skills and passion are aligned and were confirmed by placing as a finalist," said Steenstra. "My paper allowed me to explore my fascination with public policy, and placing as a finalist in the contest felt like a confirmation; I should continue to follow my passion."

Pitts and Steenstra both serve as Honors Program Student Vice Presidents and are pursuing degrees in Liberal Arts at Kalamazoo Valley. Founded in 1969, MIPSA is a professional non-partisan state organization comprised of educational practitioners, students and scholars with the intention of advancing the study of political sciences. The organization strives to achieve effective promotion and understanding of public policy, politics and government-oriented studies as well matters of importance to the state of Michigan. These studies intend to foster a creative environment for college and university student research.

MIPSA's graduate and undergraduate statewide awards recognizes eligible student papers that meet political science course requirements from the State of Michigan. Two undergraduate awards are presented annually, one for community colleges and one for four-year institutions. Candidates for the undergraduate award are nominated by their instructors. To quality, students must develop original research based on topics that address important issues relevant to the studies of political sciences.

For more information about Kalamazoo Valley's Honor Program, contact Program Director Kevin Dockerty or visit kvcc.edu/campuslife/orgs/honors.