Undergrad pursues passion for political science in shared-credit program
March 6, 2024 - Mary Beth King
When David Lopez Amaya took his first class with Associate Professor of Political Science Loren Collingwood at The University of New Mexico, it fired his enthusiasm for political science, particularly the topic of voting rights for minorities.
Lopez Amaya started with Collingwood’s voting rights class two years ago. Currently, a fourth-year senior enrolled in the shared-credit B.A./M.A. program in Political Science, he’s moved on to follow his passion for the subject of voting rights. Through the shared-credit program, he’s had the opportunity to take graduate-level coursework in the field of American Politics and Research Statistics and Methodology. Lopez Amaya also intends to graduate with a second major in Spanish and a minor in Economics.
“Growing up in a disadvantaged, minority community, I recognized the importance of political engagement and representation as means for our voices to be heard,” said Lopez Amaya, who is from the northern New Mexico town of Las Vegas. “I also recognized the lack of social research on communities of color like mine. When deciding on a college major, I knew I wanted to pursue a degree that would allow me to research minority communities in the field of politics.
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