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2018 American Politics Students

Abe Winterscheidt
is a Sophomore at William and Mary planning on double majoring in government and economics. Abe is from Tucker, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta. After college, he would like to enter law school and specialize in Constitutional Law. In his free time, Abe is a published author, writing an epic fantasy series The Nightstalker Saga and a professional astro - and nature photographer.
 
Allison Ramirez
I am a junior here at the college, majoring in Government and History. I am originally from St. Louis, Missouri, but I currently live in Charlottesville, Virginia. On campus, I am a member of Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, Inc. and Vice President of the Multicultural Greek Council. I am incredibly excited to participate in this program. I love DC and am excited to learn more about the US government.
 
Anna Fridley

is a sophomore pursuing a major in government and a minor in either sociology or education. On campus, she is a sister in Kappa Delta, a member of the Young Democrats, a Tribe Ambassador, and on the club swim team. She hopes to study abroad in Paris in the Spring semester of her junior year. After graduation she hopes to work in Washington DC for the Department of Education, on Capitol Hill, or for a government non-profit. She is hoping that this program will help give her a better understanding of what she wants to focus on once she graduates from William and Mary. Washington DC is one of her favorite cities and she is excited to spend her winter break in the city learning more about politics.

Anna McAnnally
Anna McAnnally
is a current junior, double majoring in Public Policy and English. Her passion lies in social justice issues, and she hopes to pursue a career in environmental activism. Anna is very involved in the Roosevelt Institute’s Campus Network as the president of the William & Mary chapter, and with the Sierra Club as an Environmental Justice Volunteer, using these opportunities to pursue work on environmental policy. Through the Washington Program Winter Seminar, she hopes to gain a better understanding of the role of activists in the policy landscape, and learn more about how she can affect change.
 
Gabriel Trujillo-Lederer
 
Helen Tariku

is a freshman here at the college intending on double majoring in government and public policy. Helen is also involved in: Student Assembly, in which she is a Senator for the class of 2021; the cheerleading team; her dorm Hall Council, where she is a Hall Representative for her floor; Delta Delta Delta; Tribal Fever, and plays the violin. Helen is from Arlington, Virginia but attended Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia. During her time there, she held leadership positions in seven out of the thirty clubs she was in, was a two time back-to-back national grand champion with her cheerleading team, and over the summer completed a remote internship for a D.C. law firm. She is very excited to take this incredible opportunity to get back to working with those in D.C. and getting to learn from these experiences.

Avis Lu
is a sophomore at William & Mary, majoring in Accounting and Economics. She is from Vienna, VA and is currently on the executive board for Botany Club. This summer she spent her time interning at a start up company. During her free time, she likes to play violin, take care of plants, hike in the mountains, and run. Avis is excited to have the opportunity to come into direct contact with those involved in the legislative process and learning if they think we have a government for the people.
 
Caroline Bugge
I am a freshman at the college of William and Mary pursuing government and policy. I am from Northern Virginia and I attended Langley High School, where I was SGA Vice President, and part of our nationally ranked model UN competition team. Since coming to campus, I’ve gotten involved with Greek life as a member of Kappa Alpha Theta, Tribetones a cappella, and IR club. I am looking forward to collaborating with professionals in D.C. as well as participating in discussion with other students.
 
Cody Mills
I am a Sophomore completing a major in Government and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. Since my first semester I have been involved with the William and Mary Young Democrats and I am the current outreach chair for the club. I am also involved in the William and Mary Voices for Planned Parenthood club as their outreach chair. This past summer I interned with a child and family law firm in my hometown of Martinsville, Virginia and conducted research on trends in domestic violence relating to gender, race, sexuality, and socioeconomic status. I was a freshman Orientation Aide for the class of 2021 in the Botetourt Complex (go F2L!). On campus, I am involved in Phi Sigma Pi and the Triota Gender and Women’s Studies honors society. I am super excited to spend time in DC studying American Politics and being with awesome William and Mary students!
 
Dana Florczak
is a senior at the college majoring in English and minoring in Marketing. When she is not working on her honors thesis, she spends her time on-campus serving as the VP Outreach for Mock Trial and as a student assistant at the Special Collections Research Center in Swem Library. Off-campus, she has worked for a national weekly magazine and an international electronics company. In her free time, Dana enjoys making short films, drinking chai lattes, and watching bad sitcoms on Netflix. She is excited to step outside her usual course of study this winter to explore her passion for American politics during this seminar.
 
Evan Oldshein
Hello! My name is Evan Oldshein, and I am a junior at the College double majoring in Government and History. I am from East Islip, New York, home of the best-tasting bagels you will ever have. On campus, I work closely with First Year Experience as an Orientation Aide and I am also actively involved within my fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, as an Executive Board member. I am very excited to have this opportunity to study in Washington, DC– as an out-of-state student, I never really had the opportunity to even visit Washington, DC until I started college, let alone study there!
 
John Tobin
 
Katie Peterson
is a junior at the College majoring in Anthropology and Government. She is a military child, so she doesn’t have a specific hometown, but she currently lives in Fort Hood, Texas. On campus she plays women’s rugby, she’s an Orientation Aide, she’s on the Family Weekend planning committee, and she works in an Anthropology lab working with artifacts from a site in Hawaii. She is incredibly excited to learn more about the U.S. government in D.C. this winter.
 
Kenneth Preston
 
Lauren Wengrovitz
is a senior at the college completing a self-designed major in Contemporary Publishing and Digital Media and a minor in Public Health. On campus, she is a member of Alma Mater Productions (AMP) and plays the violin in William and Mary’s Symphony Orchestra. Lauren is from Arlington, VA and has spent summers interning in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives.
 
Michael Lopez
is a senior at the College of William & Mary majoring in government and minoring in history. Born in Puerto Rico to a military family, Michael has lived in Chesapeake, Virginia since he was five. He has interned for two senior members of the Senate of Virginia, worked on multiple competitive campaigns, including holding senior roles in a few and interning for a national campaign committee, and interned for two advocacy groups that primarily focused on state and local issues. In his free time, Michael likes to watch movies, explore Colonial Williamsburg, and read about politics and history. Michael is excited to return to our nation's capital for another program with the W&M Washington Center.
 
Moira Johnson
is sophomore at the College, pursuing a Physics/Government Double major. She plays keeper for Club Field Hockey Team at the College and serves as the Vice President for the Tea Society. Originally from Chesapeake, VA, she has spent the last 10 years in the greater DC metropolitan area. She looks forward to studying the impact of science on National policies and hopes to one day use her knowledge of the subject to make impactful changes for the benefit of the nation.
 
Rachel Becker
My name is Rachel Becker and I am a junior at the College. I am a government major with a keen interest in pursuing law school after graduation. My involvements on campus include being a/an Orientation Aide, Service and Philanthropy director for my social sorority and a student representative on the Leadership Advisory Council. I am looking forward to studying American politics outside of the traditional classroom and spending a couple weeks in one of my favorite cities.
 
Sam Biddle
I am interested in the scope of the United States Federal Government. I am a senior who will graduate right after this class is complete, and I am excited to cap my undergraduate career with a course in DC. I am from Annapolis, MD, and I have met a great many people who work for or with the federal government. I have always found their careers interesting and their journeys amazing. However, I want to understand what the federal government, and the National Capital Region in which it is located, is becoming as a service - provider and as a political institution.
William Curtis
 
William Moore
I am a Sophomore at the College of William and Mary pursuing a Government and Economics Double Major. I am from Washington D.C., and I am particularly interested in high-level US Government Policy and how this shapes US Diplomacy, but I am also interested in how domestic influences shape US Government actions. Beyond the classroom, I’m in William and Mary’s International Relations Club, in the Podcasting Network at William and Mary, and I have been in several Hall Councils, along with several other organizations. I also have built my own computer, been on a Robotics Team, consulted for Medical Organizations and Podcasts, and worked in a theatre as a set designer and foreman. My interests are certainly varied, and I’m very excited for the fast-paced DC American Politics Winter Seminar!
 
Yuya Takahashi
is a sophomore exchange student from Keio University, Japan. He has taken part in a seminar that intensively works on Japanese politics and diplomacy, having a strong interest in the policy process after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. He was a co-founder of a student organization focusing on interactions of high school students in Tokyo and Fukushima, where a nuclear power plant accident occurred. In his free time he enjoys playing the saxophone in a jazz band, watching movies, and reading. He looks forward to acquiring a better understanding about relations between government and citizens, and utilizing this knowledge for his studies in his home university.