Previous Institutions: Southwestern University (Georgetown, TX), University of Texas at Austin
What are you studying: Ph.D in Political Science
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Maranda is a third-year PhD student in Political Science with a focus in American Politics. She returned to school after a few years working in the Texas policy and nonprofit space, specifically in PK-12 education research, refugee resettlement, and community engagement/advocacy. She is a graduate of UT Austin (MA in Public Affairs) and Southwestern University (BA in Economics and Business, minor in Environmental Studies). Her research interests include education policy, gender, race, and political violence. In her free time, she loves to hike, try new restaurants, and relax with her two cats, Kona and Yogi.

Fun Fact:

I love hiking with my cat. Her favorite hiking spot is Hermann Park!

Favorite thing about Rice:

My favorite thing about Rice is how close knit the community is. While there are lots of opportunities at Rice, it has a comparatively small graduate population, making it is easy to get connected within your department and the broader campus community.

Favorite thing about Houston:

I love the diversity of Houston. You get to know people from all over the world here. Houston also has the best restaurants!

Why did you decide to go to grad school?

After spending time in program evaluation and policy research, I decided to attend graduate school at Rice to study governance with a framework that not only assesses outcomes but also considers how politics shapes policy decision making. I am more confident after working with practitioners about what I want to study and in my decision to ultimately work in academia and produce public scholarship on issues affecting the political outcomes of youth/young people.