Four undergraduate student interns and two graduate assistants are supporting the staff of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics with its research and programming for the 2021-22 academic year.
Every year, undergraduate student interns play an essential role in the Catt Center’s work. They research speeches and political ads for the Archives of Women’s Political Communication, collect data and compile reports for the Women in Iowa Politics Database and Gender Balance Project, and assist with the center’s public relations and events planning. The salaries of the interns are supported in part through private gifts to the Catt Center.
The graduate assistants are:
Carrie Ann Johnson, a doctoral student in rhetoric and professional communication, is helping coordinate the Catt Center’s Vertically Integrated Projects program for a third year.
Johnson is also a graduate research assistant for the Speech Communication Program and an editorial assistant at Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. She serves as senate engagement officer for the Graduate and Professional Student Senate, as a GPSS representative on the Graduate Council and on Faculty Senate, and with the LAS Graduate Student Caucus.
“Working at the Catt Center has been a wonderful experience because of the connections I get to have with undergraduate researchers, professionals and the people in the political arena,” Johnson said.
Max Moreno, a master’s student in anthropology, is collecting contemporaneous newspaper articles and other primary source documents about Iowa suffragists. Moreno is also a teaching assistant in the U.S. Latino/a Studies Program.
The undergraduate student interns are:
Teagan Gara, a senior in journalism & mass communication and political science from Hampshire, Illinois, is the Sharon and Alice Rodine Leadership and Advocacy intern, assisting Kelly Winfrey, coordinator of research and outreach for the center, on the Women in Iowa Politics Database and the Gender Balance Project. She is collecting data on the gender makeup of county, school board and municipal elections and office holders.
Gara is a member of Chi Omega sorority and participates campus and off-campus activities such as Greek Week, Food at First and Meals for the Heartland. [photo by Aaryn Mae Exposures]
Sarah Hannon, a junior in finance with a minor in political science from Farmington, Minnesota, is a research intern assisting Kelly Winfrey, coordinator of research and outreach for the center, on the Women in Iowa Politics Database and the Gender Balance Project. She is collecting data for the Gender Balance Project and conducting survey and interview research about women’s campaign experiences.
“I enjoy working at the Catt Center because I am doing research about what I am passionate about. Watching the research grow from the brainstorming stage, to data collection and all the way to analysis is such a unique and rewarding experience,” Hannon said.
Hannon also works as a student office assistant in the scholarship and student employment office, is a member of the Kappa Delta sorority and participates in the Catt Center’s VIP program.
Arwa Hassan, a sophomore in public relations from Ames, Iowa, is the center’s public relations/events planning intern, assisting both Sue Cloud, communications specialist at the center, and Ashley Marsh, the center’s administrative assistant and event planner. In addition to publishing the center’s semiweekly student newsletter and contributing to the center’s Voices e-newsletter, social media and other communications, Hassan is designing the 2022 Women Impacting ISU calendar and assisting with the preparations for the calendar reception on Jan. 25, 2022.
“It’s always a joy to be surrounded by successful women,” she said. “I feel more confident every time I step into the office.”
Hassan is also a Greenlee Ambassador, an NCORE scholar and a member of the Orchesis II dance club.
Isabelle Kaiser, a senior in history and anthropology from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the intern for the Archives of Women’s Political Communication. This fall, she has been researching speeches by Indigenous women in politics in the United States and around the world.
“I love having the opportunity to learn more about them and the impacts they have made in their communities and the world,” Kaiser said.
Kaiser is a member of the History Club and Phi Alpha Theta and participates in the Catt Center’s VIP program. She also served as a Cyclone Aide for the past two summers.