Stories

Rob Wohl '23 attends the 2023 National Student Research Conference in Washington, D.C.

This past February, the national political science honors society, Pi Sigma Alpha, hosted its first in-person National Student Research Conference in three years. Senior Rob Wohl traveled to George Washington University in Washington, D.C., to present his political philosophy research alongside hundreds of other honors students. 

This conference aims to highlight the work of exceptional students within the political science field, with participants spanning across 137 academic institutions. In addition to presenting their work, students received feedback from graduate-level students, networked with representatives from different graduate programs, and attended the keynote address. 

Keynote speaker Dr. Yesim Sayin, the founding executive director of the D.C. Policy Center, presented her address “Finding a Meaningful Career in Political Science and Public Policy” to those in attendance.

Wohl, a double major in political science and history with a minor in philosophy, presented a critique on Friedrich Nietzsche's early essays featured in the 1886 publication of Beyond Good and Evil. Wohl worked on this essay during his senior seminar with Professor Minowitz, and is presently expanding on this research to create an honors thesis under Minowitz’ supervision. 

Wohl has pursued political philosophy as a topic of interest throughout his academic career, and hopes to pursue either academia or law in the future. Wohl expressed respect for the political philosophy courses at SCU and encouraged other students to pursue opportunities within the department: “SCU’s Political Science Department has a remarkably strong sequence of political philosophy courses, and I would advise any first year majors to take as many as they can. Also check the weekly department emails––great opportunities (like this PSA conference) are always happening, you just need to look for them!”