{"id":2748,"date":"2012-08-21T10:57:24","date_gmt":"2012-08-21T15:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www4.esu.edu\/insider\/?p=2748"},"modified":"2012-08-21T10:57:24","modified_gmt":"2012-08-21T15:57:24","slug":"four-esu-students-to-attend-the-national-political-conventions-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/four-esu-students-to-attend-the-national-political-conventions-this-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Four ESU Students to Attend the National Political Conventions this Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania students will attend the 2012 National Political Conventions this summer, sending reflections and comments from the Convention floors via blogs at http:\/\/quantumnew.esu.edu\/national_convention\/<\/a>. The students, all political science or management and leadership (public administration) majors, selected to participate in the programs are: Evan D\u2019Aversa (I) a junior from Reeders, Pa.; Amy Okale Majani (I) a junior originally from Nairobi, Kenya and now residing in East Stroudsburg; Thomas Fail (D) a graduate student from Warrington, Pa.; and, Salvatore Marino (D) a junior from Stroudsburg, Pa.. D\u2019Aversa and Majani are attending the Republican Convention from August 18 to 31, in Tampa, Fla.; while students Fail and Marino will attend the Democratic Convention from August 25 to September 7 in Charlotte, N.C.<\/p>\n

According to Associate Professor of Political Science, Dr. Kimberly Adams, this unique opportunity will provide ESU students a chance to witness the presidential convention proceedings first-hand and interact with prominent political and media figures from across the nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis type of learning experience certainly cannot be imparted in the traditional classroom setting,\u201d said Adams.\u00a0 \u201cThe intent of ESU students\u2019 participation in the National Convention Programs is to gain a first-hand practical understanding of the details and nuances associated with presidential nominating conventions. As a professor of political science,\u201d says Dr. Adams, \u201cI believe that it is essential that students are exposed to hands-on politics and participate in such experiential programs, as it adds to their knowledge of the subject matter and allows for meaningful dialogue in class discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The students\u2019 participation in this project is part of a National Convention Program sponsored by The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars (http:\/\/www.twc.edu<\/a>).\u00a0 Dr. Adams was instrumental in the selection process and will be in Tampa at the Republican Convention (Dr. Adams will be teaching a political seminar in Tampa while the students attend to their blogs).<\/p>\n

After attending the Convention programs, ESU students will be expected to write an eight to ten page research paper about their experiences; write several blogs for the University while attending the Conventions; interview a politician who serves in a local, state, or national office; and participate in the ESU\/ Washington Center Forum during the fall 2012 semester to share their experiences with other students.\u00a0 This information will also be made available to members of the University community.<\/p>\n

Adams believes that by examining the presidential conventions first-hand, students learn the intricate details involved in selecting the president of the United States.\u00a0 Direct exposure to this process can greatly enhance a student\u2019s understanding of classroom course materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter such an experience,\u201d Adams explains, \u201cstudents are often ignited and begin to assume leadership positions on their respective campuses.\u00a0 They learn about government and how to artfully use it to provide services for their campuses and their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students responded to a campus-wide application announcement from the political science department.\u00a0 They were selected based upon their grade point average, which had a minimum requirement of 3.0 (the average GPA for the four students selected is 3.8).\u00a0 The students needed to be at least a sophomore, had to submit two letters of recommendation, and were required to write a 500 word personal statement of the perceived benefits of participating in the convention program.<\/p>\n

Other criteria specified that interested students must be returning to ESU during the fall semester of 2012; and they must be willing to participate in ESU-led fundraisers to help defray some of the costs associated with the program.\u00a0 In addition, the four students selected were chosen for their maturity and ability to adjust to a fast-paced learning environment.<\/p>\n

For more information about ESU\u2019s participation in the National Convention Programs, contact Dr. Adams at (570) 422-3924 or at ksadams@po-box.esu.edu<\/a>.\u00a0 For more information about ESU\u2019s political science programs, visit www.esu.edu<\/a>, or to learn about The Washington Center, visit http:\/\/www.twc.edu\/seminars\/programs<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Four ESU students will attend the 2012 National Political Conventions this summer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[42,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-release","category-political-science"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2748"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}