Our advisory committee is growing! This fall, we welcome two new student members from the Department of Political Science: Victoria Nikonov and Ava Thompson. They join a dedicated group of 18 RCP Advisory Committee members that includes faculty, students, and staff from the U of MN, as well as city and county representatives from our past RCP partnerships. Read on to learn more about Victoria and Ava, and the perspectives they bring to their work on the committee.
Victoria Nikonov
I am a second year student at the University of Minnesota studying Political Science and Russian. I grew up in a family of Russian immigrants, with English being my second language, so I hope to offer a slightly different perspective on the advisory committee that may be valuable in helping with outreach in immigrant-heavy communities.
My involvement with RCP began my first semester here at the U. I took a class about young adult political participation, taught by Professor Scott Abernathy, that partnered with RCP and Ramsey County to conduct exit polling in the Frogtown neighborhood in St. Paul, and find data-based solutions to increase voter turnout among youth. Our work in this class inspired my interest in community outreach, and I hope to offer my best advice as well as learn from the rest of the committee!
Ava Thompson
I am a sophomore studying Political Science in the College of Liberal Arts. After I graduate, I hope to attend law school and obtain a career in Environmental Law. I grew up in Plymouth, Minnesota.
What I enjoyed most about my experience with RCP was collaborating with my peers on a subject that I'm passionate about, and seeing everyone's hard work when it came to presenting our findings. As an advisory board member, I want to help ensure future students have the same experience I did when working with RCP.