Sam Reeder earned undergraduate and master’s degrees in political science at Utah State University in 2013 and 2015. Now Sam lives in Twin Falls, Idaho where they work remotely as a data analyst for TargetSmart. Sam conducts public opinion polling for political campaigns and is also an adjunct instructor of political science at the College of Southern Idaho, where they advise the student club for the Gender and Sexuality Alliance. In their spare time, Sam serves on the Southern Idaho Pride board and enjoys gardening, role-playing games, and doing all things outdoors, like running and cycling. They can often be found tinkering with a computer or a car and recently spent two years building a bicycle. Now Sam can look forward to new adventures with a new bike.
Staying in college was the best decision I ever made. I got out of the Marines in 2008 and started college, but early on I was struggling. I wanted to drop out, but at the height of the recession I couldn’t find a job, so I stayed in school and kept trying. It took me a few majors and transferring to Utah State University before I really found my footing in political science, but I am so glad I kept it up and then continued on to earn my master’s degree.
Favorite Aggie Ice Cream flavor: Lemon and raspberry together. It’s simple but tart and sweet and fruity and delicious.
The most useful thing I learned in college was how to research. When some nugget of information seems off, i.e., doesn’t pass the smell test, I know how to go digging for the full context, and I can sift through academic literature in nearly any field to see if someone’s claim is valid.
The thing I miss most about being a student is campus life, where I would have fun and intellectually stimulating conversations about any number of topics, and where I got to learn about so many other people’s experiences or research projects on a daily basis.
What I wish I’d done was participate in an internship or study abroad program as an undergrad. I waited until my master’s program when I really didn’t have the time to do it, and I don’t think I got all I could have out of those experiences. Still, I went to Germany for two months, interned at the U.S. Embassy in Rome for four months, and spent two months in France. Those were great experiences, but they were a lot harder when I needed to meet thesis-writing deadlines, and if I’d started earlier, maybe I could have done even more!
To help elevate the faculty who have authored books, Julia M. Gossard, associate dean of research in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHaSS), created CHaSS Book Talks. This series invites faculty with recent publications to share their resea...
A new series was recently introduced to promote the creative work and research conducted in the college. The CHaSS Book Talk series was designed to help facilitate a more robust intellectual community among faculty, staff, and graduate students, centering...
