Richie Wilcox

Located just blocks from the White House, in the hub of our nation’s capital, sits the urban college campus of George Washington University, one of the world's leading educational and research institutions. To study politics on this campus, in a city of endless debate and political activism, is a dream for many young minds interested in the functions of government and social change. For Richie Bannon Wilcox ’05 of Bluffdale, Utah that dream is soon to be a reality. Armed with a UVSC bachelor’s degree in integrated studies (social sciences and business management), Wilcox will attend George Washington University this fall to earn his Ph.D. in Political Science, complete with a full tuition scholarship, as well as a living stipend.

Wilcox’s interest in political science developed when he took UVSC instructor Rick Griffin’s Law and Politics class. "He taught in a way that required students to think and to develop their own opinions on political issues,” Wilcox said. "This is where I first began to seriously think about the role of government, the origins of democracy and other issues central to political science.”

George Washington University’s prestigious political science department was recently ranked by the London School of Economics as the 36th in the world. Of 393 applicants, Wilcox was one of only 20 percent ultimately selected for the program.

During his undergraduate experience at UVSC, Wilcox was heavily involved on campus. He served as the editor for the “Your Campus” beat of the UVSC College Times, ASUVSC’s chief justice and assistant to the president, a member of the debate team and Institute council, and this last year was the editor for "Intersections,” the Integrated Studies undergraduate journal.

"The best preparation for grad school I received was in Kat Brown’s Russian history class and Laurie Whitt’s Integrated Studies senior thesis class.” Wilcox said. “These were the most challenging and rewarding courses I took while at UVSC; my writing and analytical abilities saw immense growth during their grading and feedback process.”