Award-Winning Political Science Students

Kristen Hudak honored with Mother Borgia Egan Award

Erie, Pa., Friday, May 13, 2005

Kristen Hudak of Sidman, Pa., is the 2005 recipient of the Mother Borgia Egan Award, presented by Mercyhurst College to the graduating honors student who fully embodies the spirit of a liberal arts education. Award recipients have completed all the requirements of the Mercyhurst Honors Program and possess the following qualities: academic and scholarly/professional accomplishments, community service and an appreciation of and participation in the cultural environment of the college. The award bears the name of the late Mother Borgia Egan, the Sister of Mercy who founded Mercyhurst College in 1926.

Hudak was presented with the award during the college’s annual academic awards banquet on Saturday evening, May 21. She graduated on Sunday, May 22, with a bachelor of arts degree in political science and a 3.9 GPA.

While at Mercyhurst, Hudak was involved in the Honors program and named a junior fellow at the American Academy of Political and Social Science. She was a member and Mercyhurst chapter president of the National Political Science Honor Society as well as a Mercyhurst Ambassador.

Hudak also volunteered with several political campaigns during her college years, including the Kerry-Edwards presidential campaign, and served as cofounder of the Pennsylvania College Republicans organization on campus.

James A. Mikulec Earns President's Award

Erie, Pa., Wednesday, May 13, 2005

James A. Mikulec , of Highland , Mich. , was the 2005 recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in the School of Social Sciences . Mr. Mikulec has published his work in academic journals, presented at numerous conferences, including the National Conference on Undergraduate Research. James was a triple major in history, political science, and RIAP while serving as president of the Mercyhurst Young Republicans and coordinating the Mercyhurst College Recycling Program. He will begin work towards a PhD in international relations at George Washington University in September 2005.

Timothy Krysiek honored with highest award from Mercyhurst College

Erie, Pa., Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Timothy F. Krysiek, son of James and Lois Krysiek of Carroll Valley, Pa., is the 2005 recipient of the Carpe Diem Aaward, the highest honor given by Mercyhurst College to a traditional-aged student. Krysiek received the award at the Sunday, May 22, Mercyhurst commencement ceremony before delivering the class address.

The award is given in recognition of intellectual competency, personal integrity and, especially, leadership impact. The winner is considered to be an outstanding graduating senior who has had the most positive impact on the life of the Mercyhurst community and who best exemplifies the college motto "Carpe Diem" to "Seize the Opportunity." The name and criteria for this award were established by the Sisters of Mercy under the leadership of Mother Borgia Egan, the founding president of Mercyhurst College.

A double major in intelligence studies and Russian and post-Soviet studies with a minor in political science, Krysiek graduates with an outstanding GPA and will use a Marshall Scholarship to study for his master’s in Middle Eastern and Central Asian Security Studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Krysiek was one of only 40 scholars in the United States to receive the highly coveted Marshall, a crowning senior achievement for him. Previously, Krysiek earned the David L. Boren Undergraduate Scholarship to study at Saint Petersburg State Polytechnic University in the Russian Federation.

Krysiek also manifests a strong record of service to college and community, his leadership felt campus-wide through his roles as Honors Council president, Ambassador, Rotaract vice president, Model United Nations delegate, and a member of the Senior Gift Committee.

JOE DELGADO ATTENDS THE RALPH BUNCHE SUMMER INSTITUTE

For an ambitious political science major setting his sights on graduate school, this was the stuff of dreams: an exclusive recruitment fair at which 20 topnotch students were being courted by 28 topnotch schools.

“It was a mind-blowing experience,” said Mercyhurst College senior Joe Delgado, son of Antonio and Susan Delgado of Lorain, Ohio, in recounting the highlights of his summer at the 2003 Ralph Bunche Summer Institute at Duke University. “Schools like Princeton, Harvard, Yale – they were all there, and now I’m getting e-mails and letters from them saying they are looking forward to receiving my application to their graduate schools.”

Delgado was one of 20 undergraduates from across the United States to be accepted into the prestigious academic program named after scholar, educator, civil rights advocate and world statesman Ralph Johnson Bunche, who achieved international renown as the first person of color to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (1950).

The unique program, sponsored by the American Political Science Association and funded by the National Science Foundation, establishes Delgado as a top grad school recruit. Applications to most graduate schools are due in December, and Delgado said he has made what he hopes are 13 lucky choices, among them Ivy League schools, Duke, MIT, Ohio State, Georgetown, University of Maryland, and several others.

Being accepted at a leading grad school is Delgado’s short-term goal; down the road he wants to teach at one.

“I’d like to go into international relations,” he said. “My main interest is conflict and war, and I would like to study that in the context of how ethics come into play in the midst of war – almost like political psychology.”  

The Bunche Institute, now in its 16 th year, offers an intensive five-week academic program designed to simulate the graduate school experience, provide mentoring, and expand academic opportunities for minority students, helping those students excel and continue on to graduate school, many with full fellowships and teaching assistantships.

As a member of that elite group, Delgado spent June 1 to July 3 learning from and networking with leading educators in the field of political science. He took two courses, one in statistical analysis and one in race and American politics.

“At first it was intimidating,” he recalled. “I arrived on a Monday and there was a reception at which we were each given a binder filled with 500 pages of reading that we had to have done by Wednesday.”

For five weeks, the pace was relentless, but the adjustment was relatively painless.

“I adjusted quickly and got A’s in both my classes,” Delgado said.

He also distinguished himself by having a paper he wrote selected as one of the top 10 in the group of 20. That afforded him the opportunity to attend the American Political Science Association conference in Philadelphia, Pa., last August and present his paper, which investigated how people’s religious beliefs influence their attitudes toward the death penalty.

“I was one of 10 undergrads presenting at a conference attended by 3,000 people,” he said, still somewhat awestruck by the scenario. “I met a lot of people and developed a lot of contacts.”

In reflection, Delgado was hard-pressed to explain his attraction to political science.

“I started out at Mercyhurst in criminal justice,” he said. “Then, I started taking political science courses, thinking I wanted to be a lawyer, but I found out that I really loved political science and that I wanted to go on to grad school and be an academic.   It wasn’t 9/11 or any one event in particular that attracted me to the field. I just started having more of an interest in world events.”

As he recounted the summer experience at Duke University, he couldn’t help but marvel at his good fortune, much of which he said he owes to Mercyhurst, particularly Dr. Randall Clemons, director of the political science department, who recruited him as a research assistant and encouraged him to apply for the program.

“Being a student in political science at Mercyhurst is a lot different than being one at, let’s say, Ohio State,” Delgado said. “If you are a good student here, you have the chance to get noticed.”

In addition to his research work, Delgado said his 3.79 GPA and stellar recommendations from Clemons and assistant political science professor Dr. Joseph Morris, went a long way toward positioning him as a top candidate for the Bunche program and providing him an experience that, in no small way, has been life-altering.

CARPE DIEM WINNER SHINES IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Casey Kilroy, double major in musical theater and political science

This effervescent young woman is a showstopper no matter what the venue. As a musical theatre major, Casey Kilroy of Irwin, Pa., has graced the stages of Mercyhurst College many times, entertaining the community with her melodious mezzo-soprano range and her strong acting ability.

As a political science major, she is equally convincing in the political arena, parlaying her skills as founder of the Young Democrats chapter at Mercyhurst, representing Mercyhurst at the Democratic National Convention in 2000, and working tirelessly on campaigns for Pennsylvania senatorial and congressional candidates.

Casey’s leadership and commitment have made their presence felt campus-wide   through her roles as an Ambassador, member of the Senior Class Gift Committee, a student assistant in the public relations department, and as president of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honors organization.

Although political science would seem the antithesis of musical theatre, Casey said they are two loves that her parents engendered in her at a young age. The daughter of a labor union organizer, who introduced her to politics; and a mother who weaned her on children’s theater productions; Casey couldn’t choose, so she opted to pursue both interests. She is graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in political science and will return next year to complete her musical theatre degree before going on to graduate school. While here, she will advise the Ambassadors Club, a position that will afford her the opportunity to influence prospective students as they attempt to decide whether Mercyhurst will be their college of choice.

“Whenever I gave tours as an Ambassador, I always told people how it is the personal touch at Mercyhurst that makes it so special,” Casey said. “You can be an individual here, and that makes all the difference.”

A case in point, she said, was when she was in a serious automobile accident her sophomore year; it was the compassion and the devotion of the Sisters of Mercy who sought her out and helped her through.

It is that special spirit that sets Mercyhurst apart. It is something Casey has never forgotten and likely never will because she has become yet another instrument through which the Carpe Diem spirit will continue to flow.

McAULEY WINNER FOLLOWS TWISTING PATH TO SUCCESS

Katherine Antus, accounting major with a political science minor

As a professional horse racing jockey and veterinary assistant, Katherine Antus of North East had chosen a life’s path that was as exciting as it was challenging. Suddenly, a devastating car accident, in which she suffered multiple injuries, catapulted her world into chaos and forced her to plot another course.

With physical limitations imposed by the accident, Katherine knew she would be unable to work with animals to the degree she had in the past. She sought something more mentally stimulating, and that brought her to Mercyhurst College where she found its adult program the most receptive to her needs and, clearly, the most challenging.

Still undergoing the rigors of physical therapy, raising three children, and juggling part-time jobs to make ends meet, Katherine began her freshman year. She decided to follow in her late father’s footsteps and major in accounting, something he had urged her to do many years earlier.

“I’m sure he would be very proud right now,” she said – prouder still for the way she summoned every ounce of strength and tenacity to accomplish her goal.

“There were times I wasn’t sure I would make it,” she said, remembering one Christmastime when she was working two seasonal jobs and had just begun an internship with a local accounting firm. “But, I had a lot of support from my husband and children and my friends who helped pick up the slack for me.”

Although the accident triggered her pursuit of a college education, though which she could reenter the workforce in a full-time, productive capacity, it is her children she credits for her perseverance to earn her diploma.

“They are home watching this all very closely,” she said. “It’s something I couldn’t let them see me fail at. I couldn’t disappoint them, or myself.”

Ironically, with her degree all but in hand, she has found her way back to horses and is working alongside her husband in training thoroughbreds for racing. With the prospect of a new horse racing track planned for Erie County, she is thinking that her equestrian background and her accounting degree might be just the ticket to a whole new career. To be certain, she believes Mercyhurst has helped return her to the winner’s circle.