Maria Smolyar

I am planning on completing a honors thesis my senior year and I firmly believe that participating in STUDIO Lab will give me the necessary skills in order to best handle that process. I came into college with the idea that I would complete a honors thesis and with every passing semester, that idea has only strengthened in resolve. I love learning about other cultures. The interdisciplinary nature of International Affairs works well with my curious nature. I am planning on attending law school in the future and am considering completing a phD as well. Having research experience will allow me to better understand what it takes to not only complete an honors thesis but undertake my own research. It will be a great learning opportunity for me and as aforementioned, my curiosity knows no bounds. I have maintained a relatively high GPA and pursued topics on research papers in class that will aid me in further research (for my honors thesis). Arguably, it is important to know, to some extent, what interests you, and pursue topics that align with that. Therefore, this will be a particularly exciting and worthwhile opportunity for me, one that I am interested in pursuing. 

I have taken several courses focused on Political Science, Russian Studies, and Diversity. This aligns with the program’s goal of “fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in educating the next generation.” Particularly, Environmental Justice (with Dr.Hickcox) transformed my outlook on the world around me and made me see it as a cesspool of racism and white supremacy. I want to learn more about intersectionality and how it applies to various issues. It is of interest to me because as a hopeful lawyer, I want to be able to fight for social justice for all people. Not just those who are rich and white. Learning about aversive and dominative racism made it clear how infiltrated it is within our daily lives. Additionally, we should all strive to combat the systems in place with the power we have. I am a volunteer at the Basic Needs Center on campus and I recognize how many people of color we serve. In regards to my interest about Russia and Ukraine, my family is from Ukraine. Given the current situation in Ukraine and my personal stake in the matter, I want to learn more about the situation. I feel like it is my duty to my family to know as much as I can so I can work to change it, however that may look. I know it is trite to say this but information is power. This will allow me a unique perspective from which to approach my contribution to STUDIO lab. And a unique perspective can be a positive. I wrote a paper in my American Foreign Policy class last semester aimed at exploring the war in Ukraine and it allowed me to delve into the topic and I found that I enjoyed it. Ultimately, class experiences and my own personal background could help me work to achieve STUDIO Lab’s goals because I am committed to doing so. I have the passion but I would love the opportunity to refine it through research.