Zoe Mackay, a student in the division's Politics department, received the Dean's Undergraduate Award for her research "Political Participation of Students in Istanbul: Revitalized Turkish Youth as Influential Political Actors".
Congratulations Zoe!
Department: Politics
What Award/ Scholarship did you receive? 2015 Dean’s Award
What year are you (e.g. 2016): 2014
College: Stevenson
Where do you call home? Stanford, California
With all of the choices for college, what made UC Santa Cruz stand out?
Primarily the amazing staff in my two fields, legal studies and politics, as well as the research capability at UCSC.
What is your field of focus?
International Politics
What do you hope to do once you graduate from UC Santa Cruz?
I am currently working as a paralegal and in the fall of 2015 I will be attending NYU’s graduate program in Global Affairs, International Law and Human Rights.
What is one memorable moment that stands out for you as a student here?
The amount of flexibility I was given to expand my research and really focus on the topics that lead me to the politics and legal fields.
What is your one piece of advice for incoming students about life at UC Santa Cruz?
I was a skeptic when I first decided on UCSC, but all I can say is this- I cannot imagine going anywhere else as an undergraduate. I learned so many valuable things, both inside and outside my department, and have grown to be someone that I am very proud of. I have unending gratitude to UCSC, the staff and my peers for the wealth of knowledge I accumulated.
How will this scholarship impact your academic life /research?
The most important thing that winning this scholarship allowed is honestly loving my field even more. I’ve fallen in love with international politics all over again, and for that I am grateful.
