Congratulations to our September Student of the Month, Jessica Firestone!
The Political Science Department is proud to recognize Jessica Firestone as our September Student of the Month. Jessica is a fourth year Schreyer scholar and Paterno Fellow majoring in political science and philosophy (with a concentration in Justice, Law, and Values), and a minor in economics. Her commitment to understanding and cultivating effective democratic politics is evident in her academic work, her internships, and her campus and community service. She describes herself as having grown during her time at Penn State by diving headfirst into challenges and striving to be a leader who fosters collaboration with her peers and fellow citizens.
This past summer Jessica served as a Political Reform Intern at The Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress in Washington, DC through the McCourtney Institute for Democracy. She worked alongside former Congressman Glenn Nye on political reform research and published an article on President Trump’s executive order on elections and the separation of powers. She built the Center’s Democracy Innovation Timeline and created a political dysfunction opinion survey to gauge public desire for institutional reform. Her work in Washington, DC was fittingly supported by the Thane Fake scholarship, established for students interested in careers in public service, and the Nevins Fellowship, an initiative to revitalize democratic practice in the United States. Currently, she serves as an intern for the Penn State Office of Government and Community Relations. In this capacity, she supports advocacy for Federal student aid and funding for higher education.
In addition to maintaining a nearly perfect GPA in her coursework, Jessica loves to do independent research. Her honors thesis, “The Conditional Relationship Between Trumpism, Patriotism, and Support for the Right to Protest: A Quantitative Study of Centre County, PA,” builds on exit polling that she conducted during the 2024 general election under Dr. Justin Crofoot with support from the McCourtney Institute for Democracy. Her analysis won second place in the Social and Behavioral Sciences category at the 2025 Undergraduate Exhibition. Jessica also spent two years as a Research Assistant in the Empathy and Moral Psychology Lab, and she completed a research paper analyzing the impact of eight Supreme Court decisions on women’s legal and reproductive liberties under the direction of Professor Eduardo Medieta.
Jessica is the current president and past treasurer of Pi Sigma Alpha, the political science honor society. She is the treasurer of the Penn State College Democrats, a Student Advocate with Lion Caucus, and an enthusiastic volunteer for PSU Votes. In all of these roles Jessica consistently demonstrates a commitment to democratic participation and public service. She represents the very best of our department’s mission to develop engaged citizens and thoughtful scholars.
