By Menachem Wecker
GW’s Graduate School of Political Management is so serious about recruiting top students that it is putting $40,000 of its money where its mouth is. At an Oct. 29 reception in 1957 E Street, the school handed out scholarships of $10,000 each to four outstanding students that are completing their undergraduate education.
A full roster of journalists, campaign officials, and current and former White House officials introduced the student awardees: Patrick Boland of Colby College, Parker Novak of Ohio State University, Jordan Spencer of Patrick Henry College and Kara van Stralen of University of Redlands. Each student received a plaque and a scholarship if she or he chooses to study at GW.
In his introduction at the awards ceremony, which was held across the street from the State Department and just blocks from the White House, Christopher Arterton, dean of GSPM and professor of political management, called GSPM “the first school of applied democracy in the world.”
Unlike many political science and public policy programs, GSPM features a professionally oriented curriculum and provides students with hands-on experiences in campaigns and consulting lobbing firms, he said. “While most undergraduate students know that graduate program in law, international relations and medicine exist, few – even among those interested in politics – recognize that there are now academic programs teaching applied democracy,” said Dr. Arterton.
The awards were presented by Ed Henry, CNN’s senior White House correspondent; Heather Smith, a GSPM alumna and executive director of Rock the Vote; Chris Malagisi, a veteran of three presidential campaigns; Paul Monteiro, associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement; Luke Russert, NBC’s youth correspondent; and John McConnell, former speechwriter for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.
James Kotecki, a video blogger and media analyst, emceed the event and demonstrated why he was named runner up to Mike Huckabee in the 2008 D.C.’s funniest celebrity competition, which is held at D.C. Improv.
Mr. Kotecki began by welcoming everyone to “the first-ever political award show for nerds,” noting that audience members not only could identify Paul Ryan (a Republican congressman from Wisconsin) but also admit he is “kind of sexy.”
“Tonight is about undergraduate political nerds,” he said, “who are old enough to vote but are still naïve enough to think their vote counts.” Mr. Kotecki predicted the program would give listeners “the Machiavellian tools that will help you claw to the top of the Washington cabal.”
The student award winners, who all have experience in political campaigns—either their own or for national candidates—come from all ends of the political spectrum. Awardee Mr. Spencer, who worked on Mike Huckabee’s campaign as an undergraduate student, told the audience it was a “blessing and an honor” to receive the award, and though he had not known there was a school for political management before learning about the award, he looks forward to the “great opportunity” of studying at GW.
Mr. Novak told the audience how he saw his work as an effort to restore power to the Republican Party by restoring the party’s emphasis on fiscal conservative values, and Ms. Van Stralen talked about a campus-wide debate she planned on gay marriage, in which she set up “photo booths” on campus for people to take wedding pictures.
“In 2009, we need more Kara’s,” Mr. Russert said of Ms. Van Stralen in his introduction.
Mr. Boland told the audience how he used both text messaging and the old-school technique of door knocking to become undergraduate student body president at Colby College. Audience members laughed when Mr. Boland explained his campaign strategy. Knowing he was not popular, the Los Angeles native encouraged a fellow classmate, who was on a sports team and “liked to party,” to be his vice president.
“GSPM was not something that had been on my radar until this fellowship, and now I am planning on taking classes soon as a non-degree student there. I am really ecstatic to start taking classes,” he said.
“The students that I met and talked with were everything that I was expecting – smart, inquisitive and total political nerds,” Mr. Boland told George Washington Today.
In a follow up interview, Ms. Van Stralen echoed Mr. Boland’s enthusiasm. “I have never been as highly honored as I was Wednesday night. It was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life,” she said.
“I am definitely going to begin taking classes at GSPM next fall,” she added. “I had no idea that such a highly specialized and practice-oriented school existed prior to seeing the ad for this award. Looking at the available courses and programs, it’s clear that that there couldn’t be a better fit for me!”
Since it was clear from his performance that his name was going to surface multiple times in the article, Mr. Kotecki was asked for an exclusive one liner to conclude the story in George Washington Today.
“If you did not come to ‘insert formal name of ceremony here,’ you missed fireworks, audio-animatronic presentations, talking dogs and a whimsical world of wonder,” he said. “Next year, be there!”
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