Alumni of the MA in Political Science
Graduates from our program have goen on to a variety of career paths available in both the public and private sectors. Are you a graduate of the MA in Political Science program? We would love to connect with you and hear what you are doing! Please contact us at polisci_alumni@stonybrook.edu.
diego hernandez
Class of 2023
Diego Hernandez joined the MA in Political Science program in Fall of 2022 and graduated in the Spring. Diego’s research interests were in political psychology prior to joining our program; he holds a Master of Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).” There he focused on belief in conspiracy theories as they relate to culture and global politics. Diego enjoyed completing the MA in Political Science, political psychology track, and is happy to speak to prospective students about his experience. Getting the MA enabled Diego to move on to doctoral work. In fact, Diego is now a PhD student in Stony Brook’s Department of Political Science.
SHUAN BANH
Class of 2022
After earning his M.A. in Political Science/Political Psychology from Stony Brook University, Shuan served as a San Jose State University lecturer for the Spring 2023 semester in the Political Science department. There, he taught two courses: Intro to Political Psychology and Writing Workshop. Currently, he is enrolled in the Political Science Ph.D. program at Northwestern University where he is in the American Politics field. More specifically, he is interested in political behavior, public opinion, and political psychology, as well as understanding the effects of social identities developed around geography, race, ethnicity, and others.
ALEC EWIG
Class of 2022
Alec is currently a Political Science PhD candidate at Columbia University, where he is studying political behavior, political psychology, public opinion, survey research, and quantitative methodology. At Stony Brook, Alec had the opportunity to explore the topic of political psychology in great depth, code in R and Stata, and learn how applied statistical analysis improves our understanding of political behavior. For his Master’s thesis, he conducted a survey experiment of his own design and analyzed novel data, an experience which proved invaluable in preparing him for a PhD program. The connections Alec made with professors and students at the tight-knit Stony Brook community continue to serve him well today.
CHERYL HEGE
Class of 2022
Cheryl is currently in pursuit of her Ph.D. in Political at Stony Brook University. Her research interests lie in the realm of Political Psychology, with an interest in group behavior, conspiratorial beliefs, and right-wing extremism. Her doctoral research serves as a natural extension of her prior work as an MA student at SBU, where she began her research in the Great Replacement Theory (GRT). As part of Stony Brook University's Ph.D. program, Cheryl intends to continue researching the impact of GRT on American society and politics, thereby building upon the foundation she established during her Master's studies.
REBECCA VOgT
Class of 2022
Rebecca (“Becca”) Vogt is the Senior Recruitment Manager at Immigrant Justice Corps. IJC’s mission is to recruit, train, and populate the immigration field with the highest quality legal advocates to create a new generation of leaders with a lifelong commitment to immigrant justice. As Senior Recruitment Manager, Becca leads strategic design and process for recruitment of IJC Fellows. She is also responsible for training recruitment managers in development and execution of innovative recruitment strategies and activities to engage new fellows in the immigration field to ensure that immigrant communities have access to quality counsel. Becca holds a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from Drury University (2013), a M.S. Ed. in Community and Social Change from University of Miami (2014) and a M.A. in Political Psychology from Stony Brook University (2022).
Alumni Job Placements
Our alumni continue on to a variety of careers, in academia, private industry, or public service. See where some of our alumni have gone on to below!
| First Name | Last Name | Year Graduated | Job Placement/Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael | Bednarczuk | 2011 | Assistant Professor, Austin Peay State University |
| Clara | Suong | 2011 | Assistant Professor, Austin Peay State University |
| David | Wutchiett | 2011 | Data Analyst/Scientist, The City University of NY |
| Chuyu | Liu | 2012 | Assistant Professor, University of Amsterdam |
| Jay | Dollinger | 2012 | Attorney, Jay L. Dollinger & Associates |
| Daniel | DePasquale | 2012 | Attorney-Advisor, Pesticides & Toxic Substances Law Office (PTSLO), EPA Office of General Counsel |
| Nicole | Soldano | 2012 | Legal Assistant, The Law Offices of Edmond C. Chakmakian,P.C. |
| Mandi | Breen | 2013 | Research Scientist, Center for Human Services Research |
| Feiyi | Zhang | 2013 | Law Clerk, Law Office of Xiaomin Hu |
| William | Hughes | 2013 | Marketing Data Analyst, North America at Willis Towers Watson |
| Paul | Mager | 2014 | Lecturer, St. Joseph's University |
| James | Noack | 2014 | Project Director, SSRS |
| Adam | Ozer | 2015 | Data Analyst, Kantar Public |
| Brian | Sullivan | 2015 | Evaluation Specialist, U.S Department of State |
| Alexandra | Didenko | 2016 | International Partnerships Coordinator, IMGR Agency |
| Justin | Hurdle | 2016 | Organizing Data Strategist, Friends Committee on National Legislation |
| Xinyan | Wang | 2016 | Senior Analyst, IRI Group |
| Victor | Gatica | 2017 | Junior Data Scientist, WPA Intelligence |
| Jonathan | Alvarenga | 2018 | Long Island Regional Director, NYS Senate |
| Kelly | Parsons | 2018 | Media Relations Director, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association |
| Ketevan | Chaduneli | 2020 | Country Representative, Westminster Foundation for Democracy |
| Emily | Vandeloo | 2020 | Policy Analyst, Governmental Operations, New York State Assembly |
| Matthew | Mangan | 2022 | Law Clerk, Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP |
| Shuan | Banh | 2022 | Part-time lecturer, San Jose State University |
| Rebecca | Vogt | 2022 | Recruitment Manager, Immigrant Justice Corps |
| Katrin | Schmitz | 2022 | Research Assistant, Chair for Political Sociology of the Federal Republic of Germany |