CCU students Laura LaFave and Grey Thompson to attend Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute
This year, 150 PPIA JSI fellows were selected from 33 states, 94 universities, and 21 countries. The fellows attend an intensive six-week summer program designed to prepare them for success in graduate studies and careers in public service and leadership in the United States and abroad. Fellows complete their program at one of six PPIA partner campuses.
LaFave is one of 24 fellows selected to attend the University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. She is an HTC Honors Program student and sociology major from Allen, Okla. LaFave was dual enrolled at Horry-Georgetown Technical College, where she earned her Associate of Applied Science in teacher education and Associate of Arts. Her research interests include juvenile justice and parental involvement in children’s play.
“I look forward to attending the PPIA JSI at the University of Michigan to learn more about their Education Policy Initiative,” said LaFave. “I applied for this program because of the glowing reputation of the alumni and the rigorous curriculum. I’m always up for a challenge! I value the interdisciplinary approach to research and collaboration within this initiative. Additionally, I am excited to receive career guidance and graduate school preparation from leaders within the Ford School of Public Policy.”
LaFave volunteered as a literacy tutor through Freedom Readers, sorted and stocked the campus food pantry at HGTC, and worked an interactive station during CCU’s Teal Youth Day. She has given talks in the community on topics including “The Delinquent’s Manifesto: Demanding Education Equity for Incarcerated Youth” and “Incarceration, Inclusion, and Introspection: Why You Should Have a Prison Pen Pal.” She was the first female to portray HGTC’s mascot, Chomp the Gator, and is a licensed ham radio technician. She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa international honor society and Kappa Delta Pi international honor society for education.
“I’m so proud of Laura,” said Beth Carraway, HGTC professor and advisor of Alpha Nu Sigma’s Horry-Georgetown Technical College chapter. “Her innovative projects and leadership in Phi Theta Kappa earned her a Distinguished Chapter Member international award and led to our chapter’s regional and international recognition in consecutive years. I can’t wait to see her leave her mark on this world.”
Thompson, from Charlottesville, Va., is an HTC Honors Program student pursuing a triple major in intelligence and national security studies, theatre, and women’s and gender studies. They are one of 31 fellows selected to attend the University of California Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.
“I want to pursue a law/policy career surrounding child safety,” said Thompson. “I felt that an experience with the PPIA program would prepare me academically for a graduate program to expand my understanding of these issues. I am looking forward to meeting and working with my peers in the program and the educational experiences I will have in the classes I am slated to take.”
Thompson has worked as a stage manager for several theatre productions at CCU. They are vice president of CCU’s chapter of The Order of the Sword and the Shield and a member of the Chanticleer Intelligence Brief, and Women in Intelligence and National Security. They directed a research project tasked by the National Security Agency examining semiconductor production in Taiwan, The People’s Republic of China, and the United States. Most recently, Thompson participated in the “Human Rights and Social Justice in South America (Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile)” CCU faculty-led Maymester program.
“Grey will excel in the prestigious PPIA Junior Summer Institute Fellowship at UC Berkley due to the same factors that led to their selection for admission to this highly competitive program: their intelligence, their creativity, and their passionate commitment and dedication to the issues they study,” said Jordan Roberts, Ph.D., assistant professor in CCU’s Department of Intelligence and Security Studies. “This program will aid Grey on their path to becoming the best possible public policy scholar they can be in their future doctoral studies and beyond.”
PPIA is a not-for-profit organization that supports efforts to increase diversity in graduate studies in public policy, international affairs, and public service for more than 40 years.
Written by Kristyn Winch, HTC Honors College.