Meet Our Alumni

" My time in UConn's Political Science department gave me the analytical foundation that has shaped every role I've held since graduating. From analyzing foreign investment transactions at the federal level to advising on geopolitical and enterprise risk in financial services and emerging technologies, the department pushed me to think rigorously about power, institutions, and global systems at a time when those frameworks felt abstract. Years later, those frameworks are the lens I use every day in my career. During my time at UConn, I capitalized on every available opportunity that the department had to offer, like working as a Research Assistant analyzing data and social trends in India, to taking a graduate level seminar in foreign policy as part of the Honors program. I'm grateful for the professors who took such ideas seriously and a program that prepared me for a career I couldn't have fully imagined yet. "

Daniel Fata is an Operating Partner at Andromeda Ventures as well as the President of Fata Advisory, LLC, a strategic consulting firm based in Virginia. He is both a board director and an advisory board member with numerous dual-use technology start up efforts. He has three decades of experience working at the highest levels in Washington, D.C. as a Congressional leadership staffer in both the House and the Senate, a senior Pentagon official responsible for Europe/Russia/NATO, as an executive at the global strategic consulting firm The Cohen Group, and as a Vice President with Lockheed Martin. His expertise focuses on aerospace and defense, transatlantic security, emerging technologies, supply chains, and renewable energy. He is also a commissioner on the congressionally mandated Afghanistan War Commission.

"The best aspects of studying Political Science at UCONN back in the mid-1990s was the reputation of The Roper Center on Political Opinion and the inaugural Dodd Center for Human Rights which to me captured hearts and minds after the first Gulf War in 1990-91 - that we could harness a focus of statistically significant data to understand more objectively the relationship of different demographic variables to help society better understand overall attitudes and preferences in an ever changing world and knowing that correlation isn't necessarily causation was very meaningful I think. "

Katherine graduated from UConn with a double major in Political Science and English and a minor in Human Rights. A UConn fellowship at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands, launched her career in international affairs. She received a master's in conflict studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science and went on to serve in roles in the U.S. Senate, U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the White House. Katherine is currently embedded with the British Treasury in London, UK working on financial sanctions that are deployed to respond to pressing national security demands. 

"I chose to major in POLS because I have always been fascinated by politics, and appreciated the breadth of courses that the department offered. After graduating from UConn, I worked as a high school social science teacher with Teach for America. Now, I will be continuing my education at Georgetown Law. The writing, research, and public speaking skills I have developed while studying political science have helped me succeed in both my early career and gaining admission to graduate education. I am incredibly grateful to the entire UConn Department of Political Science for all they have done to support me!"

"Though my initial reason for majoring in POLS was due to my interest in law, I fell in love with and understood what political science was in a more nuanced way through my courses at UConn. Particularly, the intricacies of power and structures in various institutions piqued my interest. Both of my degrees from UConn POLS have shaped me into the professional I am today; my ability to read, write, analyze complex data, and present high-level information all stem from my experiences in POLS."

"What initially attracted me to the Department was its disciplinary diversity. I wanted to study both political theory and public law and the department holds exceptional strengths in both. What kept me there was the enormous level of support I garnered from my doctoral advisor, Jane Gordon and other faculty, who were among some of my biggest supporters. Such levels of commitment to student growth truly stood as a decisive moment. And, in the end, I couldn't have made a better decision."

"My political science degree from UConn was the foundation for a career in academic research. The opportunity to have training in research design and statistical analysis, writing an honors thesis, and testing out a graduate-level course showed me that a) graduate school was the right path for me, and b) a career as a social science researcher was interesting and exciting. At the same time, my UConn experience--which fostered both political science as a research discipline and politics as an interest and hobby--prepared me for work in a think tank that requires both rigorous research and an understanding of the complex world of politics."

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