2024年5月30日
Layren McDannold ’23 has been awarded the Anne Wexler Scholarship in Public Policy from the U.S. 国务院和J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
The award will allow McDannold to go to Australia to pursue her master’s degree in public policy while also conducting research into the generational impacts of the climate crisis 和 how political apathy 和 distrust affects climate legislation. She is currently considering Australian universities in Brisbane, Canberra 和 Sydney in part due to the universities’ esteemed public policy programs 和 their proximity to affected populations of the climate crisis based on bush fire 和 flood risk.
McDannold’s interest in political apathy was inspired by similar research she conducted alongside 莎丽雅各布森，副教授 人类学 同时也是 社会学 & 浩博体育app人类学教授.
“As I engaged with one-on-one interviews 和 group observations, I became very aware of just how prominent political apathy was, but also how it seemed different in relation to college students than it did compared to, 说, 我的老家人或熟人,麦克唐纳说. “I also saw a lot of students were worried about big issues like climate change but felt too overwhelmed 和 confused to participate in advocacy. I am incredibly passionate about political movements, especially as they pertain to younger generations, so this felt like the perfect opportunity to pursue research like this.”
通过她的富布赖特研究, McDannold will analyze polling data 和 conduct surveys with local citizens to determine their trust in the government 和 motivation for citizen advocacy or lack thereof in relation to the climate. Her overall goal is to increase citizen trust in government 和 public advocacy for the climate crisis 和 promote green legislation that combats warming 和 addresses the issues being accelerated by the climate crisis, 包括资源稀缺, 疾病和冲突.
“在我完成硕士学位之后, I plan to work in the nonprofit or NGO sectors to create policy 和 facilitate civic engagement around 可持续性 efforts in order to generate green spaces, political education 和 economic prosperity in rural, 贫困地区,麦克唐纳说. “This will ideally be through international organizations that prioritize 可持续性 和 social welfare 和 justice.”
After gaining valuable in-field experience, McDannold plans to pursue a doctorate in 可持续性 和 a career in sustainable development or academia.
McDannold graduated from Susquehanna summa cum laude with departmental honors, 获得文学学士学位 国际研究 和 政治科学 重点是比较文化.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the federal government. It is funded through an annual appropriation made by Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational 和 Cultural Affairs. The program currently operates in over 160 countries worldwide.