Celebrated Graduate Student Wins Third Major Award

After winning the prestigious Jeannette K. Watson Undergraduate Fellowship and being selected for the the Native American Congressional Internship Program by the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, Trevor Farland ‘17C has been chosen as an American Political Science Association Minority Fellow for 2018-2019. The APSA Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) provides a letter in support of the fellow’s application for doctoral study in political science and a $4,000 award dispersed in $2,000 increments, once at the beginning of the first year of doctoral study and again before the second year of doctoral study in political science. Now in its 49^th year, the fellowship is a distinguished honor in the political science discipline.

The fellowship will support Farland’s goal to complete a doctoral degree in political science and use his research to advocate on behalf of indigenous peoples within government systems. Specifically, Farland is interested in how embedded cultural values impact political institutions, and his focus has been the Najavo Nation. Having grown up on a Najavo reservation in northwest Arizona, Farland’s Udall internship allowed him to work with the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and observe how tribal governments interact with the federal government. He will be presenting a paper on this topic at the Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) conference in April 2018, and after he completes his Ph.D., Farland intends to contribute new knowledge to federal reports that shape public policy in this area.

Farland has kept an open mind about his career path and has allowed his remarkable experiences as an undergraduate and graduate student at St. John’s to guide his next step. “One thing the Watson fellowship taught me was to be open to experiences,” said Farland. “Don’t knit yourself into something because you don’t know where anything might lead you.”

“I am confident that Trevor’s eventual doctoral research will provide an extraordinary insight to how indigenous communities, particularly in North America, engage contemporary politics,” said Fred P. Cocozzelli, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair of Government and Politics. “He is a promising young scholar who can provide insight and understanding into an important, and under-represented community.”