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Junior Yalidy Matos accepted to the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute

Yalidy Matos ´09 has been accepted into the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute

April 15, 2008

Yalidy Matos ´09 is in love. The look in her eyes says it all - she is totally and completely in love with the United Nations.

Matos, a native of the Dominican Republic, first visited the United Nations during a field trip with one of her gender and women´s studies courses last spring. There, she said, she witnessed government in action. "We got to see the countries debating over the words they were using in a resolution," Matos said. "It was incredible to see how all of the countries had a say in the matter and the rich countries weren´t dominating the debates."

The trip helped convince Matos to double major in government and gender and women´s studies, while also pursuing a minor in English. After she declared her interest in government, her advisor, gender and women´s studies professor Mab Segrest, encouraged her to apply for one of 20 coveted spots at the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute, a five-week academically intense summer program for underrepresented groups interested in political science.

Matos said it didn´t take much convincing to get her to apply. The Bunche program, which is held on the Duke University campus, introduces students to the intellectual demands of graduate school and political science research methods. The program also enhances participants´ writing, research and analytical skills, as well as their standardized-test taking skills, to help them become more competitive applicants for graduate schools.

For Matos, who hopes to one day work with a government institution or an international organization - like the UN - and research how U.S. politics affect underrepresented groups and women abroad, the program sounded perfect.

But she worried that her chances would be affected by the fact that she had only recently declared her government major. So she worked diligently with her political science advisor, government and international relations professor MaryAnne Borrelli, to complete her application and letter of interest.

Still, when Matos received a letter explaining that she had been accepted to the program, it took her a full 24 hours to really process the news. "I didn´t realize the full significance of my acceptance," Matos said. Professor Segrest, however, realized it right away. "Mab went crazy - she started emailing everyone on campus," Matos said.

Matos wasted no time sending in her registration for the program, and now she is counting down the days until she leaves for North Carolina. Matos said she is especially looking forward to completing the two transferable credit courses at the institute, a course on quantitative methods and a course race and U.S. politics.

"Both courses are very important for me as a new government major," Matos said, "and I am particularly excited about the race and politics class, because of my interest in how race affects politics."

Another high point for Matos will be meeting Paula McClain, a professor of political science and law at Duke University, who directs the program. "Professor McClain is a very important role model as an African American woman," Matos said. "I can´t wait to meet her and talk to her about how she earned her Ph.D."

As a final component to the program, Matos will complete an in-depth research assignment. Not suprisingly, Matos will use the opportunity to more fully explore the potential impact of the United Nations.

"The UN is the only international institution with any governing influence over the entire world," Matos said. "I want to look at how gender and race play out in the UN, and explore ways in which the UN can have a bigger global impact."

For more information contact: Amy Sullivan (860) 439-2526; amy.sullivan@conncoll.edu