Students of the arts, humanities, and social sciences are often troubled by the talk of those who don’t understand the value of their degrees and the career opportunities they open up. Andrea Shaw Nevins, Ph.D., who chairs the Department of History and Political Science at NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, wants to change that. She and her colleagues are helping students “see the world differently” by offering them new experiences outside of the classroom.

The Department of History and Political Science Student Scholar Fund will provide financial support to undergraduate and graduate students in the department for professional conference presentations, academic publications, research, and other scholarly student initiatives. “We believe that our undergraduate and graduate students can really benefit by becoming acquainted with the larger academic arena related to their discipline,” said Nevins. The fund has already sent freshman David Rocha to Washington, D.C., to present a paper at the Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society National Student Research Conference.

“We want students to walk away with new, meaningful and insightful perceptions of themselves and the world around them. This fund is helping to make that happen.”
For Nevins, who grew up in Jamaica, there’s a real joy in being able to teach students about the Caribbean and African Diaspora. “Helping them understand the history of the region through literature and sometimes film– often for the first time in an academic context– is really meaningful.”

The fund has existed since 2016. Nevins hopes that it will grow enough to provide 10 to 20 awards per year. In order to meet this goal, she’s working with her colleagues to come up with ideas that will help encourage giving.