Past Wallop Awardees
2022-23 Intern
Holly Wodahl, Senior-pursuing degrees in Political Science, International Studies
and Environment and Natural Resources, Laramie WY
Project: Wallop Thriving Community Project
2021 Wallop Student Internship Recipient
Aliea Ednie, BS in Human Resource Management and Economics, Jackson WY
Business Outreach Internship for Laramie Main Street Alliance
Aliea Ednie served as the business outreach intern for Laramie Main Street Alliance for 2021. The internship involved visiting local Laramie businesses and getting folks signed up to participate in Laramie Main Street events like Laramie Jubilee Days shopping guide, Crazy Days, and Pop Up Art Walk. In addition, it also involved the dissemination of updated information about public parking, upcoming events, and a 2020 summary of the year. During June, July, and August, there were over 100 business visits each month along with mandatory committee meetings, involvement with Brewfest, helped with the farmers’ markets, and created marketing materials for events.
Aliea's video presentation can be viewed on YouTube below:
2020 Wallop Student Research Fellowship Recipients
Kyle Austin Sabourin, MA candidate in International Studies, Farson, WY
Project: Political Engagement as a Factor of Repatriation
The conflict in Syria had led to the international displacement of over six million Syrians. Most Syrian refugees had been displaced to Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. While extensive research had been conducted regarding refugees and forced migration, an insignificant amount had focused on repatriation. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had defined voluntary repatriation as the preferred durable solution for refugees. However, low rates of repatriation had continued to plague refugee populations in recent decades.
This research took place near Irbid, Jordan, in the Zaatari Refugee Camp. A large-scale survey project (along with a select number of interviews) was conducted with the help of the International Medical Corps. This survey helped determine trans-local political engagements and refugees’ desired local engagement methods upon return to Syria. This mixed quantitative-qualitative method helped identify and develop political development strategies in Syria in order to induce repatriation in the post-conflict period.
Kathryn Tay, MA Candidate in Political Science, Cheyenne, WY
Project: "Who's In the Driver's Seat? An Analysis of Public Policy Formation Around Autonomous
Vehicles in Tempe, AZ"
In 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that human error was involved in 94 to 96 percent of all motor vehicle crashes. Also in 2016, researchers Bonnefon, Shariff, and Rahwan predicted that autonomous vehicles could eliminate 90% of traffic accidents due to their elimination of human error. However, there remained a 10% gap of unavoidable accidents that required attention to this technology at the state and federal levels.
This project analyzed how governmental policy values, public opinion, private sector motivations, and social equity issues shaped the discussion, creation, and implementation of governmental policies and regulations surrounding driverless automobiles in Tempe, AZ. The comparative nature of the study allowed for a discussion on the challenges that differences in state laws posed, as the federal government had not formally addressed the issues and autonomous vehicles were expected to inevitably become an interstate technology.
Kathryn's video presentation can be viewed on YouTube below:
2019 Wallop Student Fellowship Recipients
Susan Alt, MA in International Studies/ENR — Lino Lakes, MN
Project: Eco-tourism in Chile
Large-scale ecotourism and conservation efforts in South America were often economically and environmentally unsustainable, damaging to local cultural identities, and frequently had negative impacts on the environment. In Chilean Patagonia, governmental mismanagement of resources and foreign influence in the conservation and ecotourism sector had caused damage to the environment, local cultures, and indigenous communities. Research in other parts of the world had suggested that ecotourism and conservation at the local level had the potential not only to improve conservation outcomes but also to enhance cultural autonomy and improve the social and economic welfare of local people.
In response to negative social and environmental consequences, local individuals and communities in the Chilean region of Chiloé had begun to develop small-scale ecotourism and conservation efforts over the previous ten years. For her MA research, Susan examined recent small-scale ecotourism and conservation efforts in Chiloé, Chile, which represented a significant deviation from traditional livelihoods. She investigated the motivations for these projects, the degree to which they were successful or not, and their influence on cultural autonomy, environmental protection, and economic development.
Susan's video presentation can be viewed on YouTube below:
Leena Hornlein, Senior in Political Science with minors in International Studies and
Honors – Gilbert, AZ
Project: Internship with the House Foreign Affairs Committee
As an intern for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Leena performed legislative
and policy research in support of committee staff members. She attended and documented
House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearings, in addition to other relevant committee
hearings (such as Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services) covering a wide range
of current U.S. foreign policy interests. This included assisting in the markup process
for bills before the committee as well as helping with logistics and general duties
for protocol events when foreign dignitaries and experts testified before the committee.
In addition, she had the opportunity to complete an intensive research project mentored
by a staff member who specialized in her areas of interest: conflict resolution and
democratic practices abroad. This was an unpaid internship, and Wallop Program funds
helped to offset the cost of living in Washington, DC.
Leena's video presentation can be viewed on YouTube below:
Coletan Nutter, MA in International Studies — Laramie, WY
Project: Refugees in Kenya
Global development efforts to reduce gender inequality often relied on self-reliance strategies, which had a weak historical track record of success. This issue was heavily influenced by a lack of negotiation with the attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs of refugees and was exacerbated by the marked exclusion of refugee men from available aid, which could result in an increase in abusive behavior toward refugee women.
Cole’s research sought to demonstrate how the neoliberal aid institutions working within refugee contexts in Kenya could benefit in the fight against gender inequality by supplementing self-reliance strategies with a value system analysis to help identify more culturally sensitive means of addressing gender inequalities among marginalized women in refugee camps. He investigated current aid structures in Nairobi for refugees and evaluated the degree to which these structures aimed at reducing gender inequality promoted self-reliance in refugee men and women.
Cole's video presentation can be viewed on YouTube below:
Maria Owen, MA in International Studies — Lake City, CO
Project: A Case for Culturally Competent Care: Canada’s Colonial History, Social Determinants
of Health and the Failure to Care for Indigenous Populations
Indigenous peoples experienced more severe and more frequent ill health than their non-Indigenous counterparts. Indigenous people deserved to have healthcare that was specific to their cultural and historical contexts. A strategy to reduce health disparities felt by minority populations was culturally competent healthcare. Culturally competent healthcare, which took into consideration the social determinants of health and the histories of Indigenous people, was considered the best way for Canada to move toward health parity.
In her research, Maria examined the history of colonialism, social determinants of health, ill health among Indigenous populations, and the successful implementation of culturally competent care programming.
Maria's video presentation can be viewed on YouTube below:
Eliminate current Faculty Engagement Fellow label and rename to Wallop Faculty Fellowship Program
Starting in 2020–21, the Wallop Program supported a faculty fellow to work with the Office of Engagement and Outreach to develop civic engagement programming. Dr. Jason McConnell, who later served as the Wallop Program co-director from 2021–25, was the first recipient of this fellowship. The program was scheduled for renewal in 2025 to support faculty working directly with students on projects that addressed civic engagement topics focused on issues of significant public concern in partnership with Wyoming communities, enhancing scholarship, teaching, and/or student service. More information was expected to follow.
