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When most people describe SUNY Fredonia, chances are the words “teacher” or “music” will leave their lips. But another area has produced accomplished alumni for decades: Political Science.
Lately, the political science department profile has been steadily climbing, as several graduates have hit the ground running by obtaining some impressive experiences, including working for U.S. senators, county executives and major public service organizations.
Take Cody Meyers, a Student Association (S.A.) president who graduated in 2008. Little did he know as he received his diploma that he would return a year later as a staff assistant to U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer. Yet, there he was as part of the logistics team for a six-campus graduation tour, escorting the Senator to a seat on the very dais where Meyers sat just 12 months earlier.
“I never planned to do any of this…never in my wildest dreams,” Meyers said from the Senator’s downtown Buffalo office.
In fact, Meyers almost didn’t do any of this. He came to Fredonia intending to be a Spanish major in hopes of one day joining the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, as he was in the Registrar’s Office selecting his classes for his first semester, he decided on the spot to switch to Political Science.
“I’ve always been that weird kid who was interested in politics at a young age,” Meyers recalled. “I always stayed up late and watched the State of the Union address.”
As he progressed through school, Meyers especially enjoyed the classes he took from Professor Jim Hurtgen, who focuses on Political Philosophy, Law and Society, and Ivani Vassoler, whose forte is International Politics. His hiring less than a month after he took off his cap and gown comes as no surprise to Dr. Hurtgen, the department’s senior statesman who joined the faculty in 1971.
“We know our students probably more than they realize,” said Hurtgen, who watched Meyers’ progress with a keen interest during his days on campus. “I think we all develop a personal awareness of students and their abilities.”
Another recent alumnus who found early success is Jeffrey Bochiechio, ’07, executive director for Erie County Executive Chris Collins’ privately held political fundraising arm, Collins For Our Future. While Meyers landed his first job within a month of earning his diploma, Bochiechio started his the very next day, as deputy campaign manager for then-candidate Collins.
“The campaign was a real rollercoaster ride, but nothing was more exciting then our landslide victory on Election Day,” Bochiechio said of the race that many considered Collins to be a long shot to win as a Conservative candidate in a 3-to-1 Democratic county.
How does someone fresh out of school land a position this significant so quickly? For Bochiechio, it was all thanks to the experiences he made sure he gained while still in school.
“I was fortunate to have interned for (former U.S. Congressman) Tom Reynolds in 2005,” he recalled. “I essentially managed the Erie County portion of his campaign (for re-election), so that gave me a lot of experience for this role.”
A double major in Political Science and History, Bochiechio bolstered that experience by joining Fredonia’s European Union simulation program, which included a conference in Europe.
Following Collins’ election, Bochiechio moved into a new role within the Collins administration, leading the fundraising efforts for his next campaign in 2011 — the same year Bochiechio is slated to complete law school at the University at Buffalo.
“That’s going to be a very busy year,” he acknowledged with a smile.
Erie wasn’t the only county executive campaign to have Fredonia grads in critical roles. This fall’s Chautauqua County Executive race saw former students on both sides of the aisle, with Joel Keefer, ’98, working for Republican incumbent and eventual winner Greg Edwards as his executive assistant, while Democratic challenger Chuck Cornell had the support of two highly accomplished students from the 2008-09 academic year. Nicholas Dhimitri — a two-semester S.A. president and the only Fredonian ever to earn a perfect score in the national Mock Trial Competition — was Cornell’s campaign manager. Joining him as Cornell’s communication manager was John Mackowiak, ’09, a Communication major and recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence.
Many recent majors have landed a door-opening, high-profile internship. Since 2004, Fredonians have interned for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the 2004 Bush-Cheney Presidential Campaign and the U.S. Supreme Court, to name just a few. Government agencies such as the Federal Communication Commission, the Hispanic Institute, the National Whistleblower Center, and the World Wildlife Federation have given equally valuable experiences.
Not bad for a department that produces only 20 to 25 graduates per year. However, Political Science is one of the most visible departments on campus, due to the large number of non-majors taking courses to satisfy the College Core Curriculum.
“Many of our lower-level classes are made up of non-majors,” explained Dr. David Rankin, who was named department chair in 2009. “We offer seven sections of our Introduction to American Politics class each term; that’s 300 to 400 students per semester, and probably 95 percent are non-majors, so we get in front of a lot of faces.”
Another popular course, especially among Communication majors, is Media and Politics, also taught by Dr. Rankin, who has helped develop a strong bond between these departments through their natural collaboration opportunities, especially during major election years such as 2008. Communication professors Linda Brigance, who studies political communication and rhetoric, and Elmer Ploetz, a former Buffalo News reporter, have teamed up with Rankin, Hurtgen and others to offer students unique programs, guest speakers and travel experiences, including the inauguration of the nation’s first African American President last January.
“We offer a lot in the classroom,” Rankin admits, “but we provide our students numerous opportunities outside of it.”
Mackowiak is an excellent example of this dual department pedigree. In the fall of 2008 with Dr. Rankin’s guidance, he completed an internship with the Investigative Unit of NBC News’ Washington, D.C. Bureau, where he assisted veteran correspondent Lisa Myers and a team of producers with reports for “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” and the “Today” show. In addition, while at Fredonia he worked as a part-time technical producer for WBEN-AM, a news/talk radio station in Buffalo known for political opinions.
“As a Communication major, I found myself trying to figure out a way to help government be a positive influence on people’s lives,” explained Mackowiak, who actually had the choice of working for either NBC News or CNN’s White House unit. “When you work in the media, you’re working for the people, serving as a watchdog. But blending communication and politics seems to be a better way to do that. As far as the rest of my career goes, I can’t really see myself being too far away from politics.”
Mackowiak isn’t the only recent Communication major to be drawn to the political arena. Maggie Perrigo, ’07, recently completed an internship with U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman in Washington, D.C., as part of a dual master’s program in International Relations and Public Relations at Syracuse University. Despite being the daughter of the Republican Committee chairwoman of Cattaraugus County (N.Y.), her mother was thrilled when she learned of her daughter’s plans to serve the well-known Independent senator from Connecticut.
“She said that’s as far left as I’m allowed to go,” joked Perrigo, who is currently business development director for the chamber of commerce in her home town of Olean, N.Y., while she helps out an ill family member. She hopes to one day return to the nation’s capital, where she grew quite attached during her internship.
“It’s such an experience being there on ‘The Hill,’” she said. “You just pick up so much.”
Perrigo raves when asked about her Fredonia years. She’s fairly certain she took every course offered by Rankin, who began many classes with a clip from Comedy Central’s news/political satire program, “The Daily Show.” She also enjoyed fellow Political Science professor Ray Rushboldt, as well as Public Relations professor Ann Carden.
“We were so lucky to be at Fredonia. They have so many terrific teachers,” Perrigo insists.
Perrigo also brings an interesting perspective, having just completed her studies at the larger and more nationally recognized Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse.
“Fredonia has become a force to be reckoned with,” Perrigo observed. “They [Syracuse’s admissions officers] are starting to take more Fredonia grads.”
If this recent crop of young guns is any indication, people will be reckoning with Fredonia grads for a very long time.
