Our undergraduate Political Science students are the heart and soul of the department. They're not only hardworking and dedicated students, they also play an important role as research assistants and campus community leaders. As we close out the 2025/2026 academic year, we wanted to shine a light on three such impressive undergraduate students and leaders -- one graduating senior and two rising seniors -- making an impact in St. Louis, Washington DC, and beyond.

Sonal Churiwal

Sonal Churiwal came to WashU with a keen interest and focus on local politics and political engagement, and used her time on campus to expand her focus on both. Churiwal -- a graduating senior double-majoring in Political Science and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies with a minor in Writing -- spent her time at WashU interning for several local St. Louis nonprofits, including Missouri Asian American Youth Foundation and PROMO, while learning the ins and outs of St. Louis politics and its political systems.

One such internship, a 2023 spot with ArchCity Defenders through the Gephardt Institute's St. Louis Fellowship, taught Churiwal about the lasting impacts of historic redlining in St. Louis County and a municipal court system that tends to financially exploit and arrest citizens -- disproportionately low-income and Black citizens. Her summer with ArchCity Defenders led her to pursue a Political Science Honors Thesis that examined the incentives of exploitative municipalities by turning to the judges and prosecutors working in them.

The recent Missouri state takeover of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department brought with it more attention to police funding and practices, and a chance for Churiwal to leverage her knowledge base of the St. Louis municipal court operations and her background in St. Louis politics. Churiwal reported a story for St. Louis Magazine that highlighted the connection between the newly appointed police board's attorney and ethical questions surrounding his position and St. Louis County municipal courts. She also wrote, as part of her St. Louis Magazine editorial internship, other stories about St. Louis politics and the experience of immigrants living in the area. 

Churiwal's advisor, Senior Lecturer in Political Science, Zachary Bowersox, said of her:

"Sonal has let her sense of social justice lead her and I think that’s inspiring. Sonal’s honors thesis was based on a local issue that she had previously observed as an intern, and her drive to better understand it formed the research design. That she could publish an article based on the thesis I think demonstrates its relevancy and her ability to communicate on these issues."

Long-term, Churiwal hopes to build a career in community-led and impact-driven journalism. 

Aratrika Ghosh

Aratrika Ghosh has been focused on policy and civic engagement since high school, and as a student at WashU has learned all she can about both. Ghosh, a rising senior double majoring in Political Science and Philosophy with a minor in Legal Studies, worked on local and state elections in her home state of Massachusetts before arriving on campus. Since arriving at WashU, Ghosh has spent her summers interning for US senators and assisting strategy consultants and law firms to build an impressive resume going into her final year.

As if that work wasn't enough, Ghosh time on campus has been equally impressive. For the last two years, she has been a research assistant for political science professor Dr. Matthew Hayes, contributing work focused on the intersection of political representation, electoral studies, and racial politics. Ghosh is also a Gephardt Civic Fellow, a teaching assistant, and president of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society. Most recently, she was awarded the Robert H. Salisbury Prize, an honor given annually to one junior on the basis of a broad record of initiative, leadership, and service both on and off campus. 

In his letter nominating Ghosh for the Robert H. Salisbury Prize, Dr. Hayes said:

"Aratrika has demonstrated an incredible breadth of experiences as a student at WashU. She excelled when she took a class from me, and has subsequently served as my RA for over 2 years. She significantly contributed to 3 of my publications (1 published, 2 accepted) that would have taken substantially longer without her. In addition, she has been active in PSA, frequently attends departmental events, has extensive internship experience, and has engaged with several cultural organizations on campus. She's truly a leader in the department."

Adding to this impressive list of accomplishments, Ghosh will return to Capitol Hill this summer as an intern for the House Committee on Rules and plans to pursue a career in federal policy and law post-grad. She is particularly interested in the intersection of labor and education policy, aiming to ensure that all communities have equal and reliable access to opportunity and support.

Tanya Keskar

It is not entirely unusual for a WashU student to have multiple extracurricular interests outside the classroom. It is unusual, however, for a student to have multiple extracurriculars alongside being a successful non-profit founder and executive director all before they have graduated. This is where rising senior Tanya Keskar steps in.

Keskar, a John B. Ervin Scholar studying Political Science and Economics, is the founder and executive director of Realize to Act, an education-access nonprofit launched seven years ago that delivers thousands of essential educational resources to students every year. These resources include school supplies and backpacks for students, volunteers providing community support while centering young people in those solutions in their communities, and tech infrastructure that connects schools and community partners to provide students with consistent access and to close the resource gap in schools.

For her social entrepreneurship work with Realize to Act, Keskar was recently named a Disruptor Funding winner during the Spring 2026 Skandalaris Venture Competition, and also received funding through the Olin 2-Minute Video Pitch Competition. Keskar was also named an Allstate Foundation Youth Changemaker, Changemaker Grant recipient, and served as a 2026 National Youth Service Summit Alum Leader. She also spoke at The Allstate Foundation Youth Empowerment Forum on using research to empower young people to service their communities. She was also a 2026 TEDxWUSTL speaker, where she spoke on using joy to spark positive action, and co-led a workshop at SXSW EDU 2026, a national education conference in Austin, on designing youth-led service programs in educational settings driven by her research and real-world experiences.

On campus, Keskar has worked with the WashU Philanthropy Lab and the National Ambassador Board to distribute hundreds of thousands of dollars in student-led grantmaking, co-authored and presented research on youth-led service, and engaged in nonprofit consulting with PwC. All of this while working as a Resident Advisor, Career Peer, and a representative on the Undergraduate Student Affairs and Center for Career Engagement Advisory Boards.

Senior Lecturer in Political Science, and Keskar's advisor, Zachary Bowersox, summed up Keskar's work well when he said:

"Tanya’s advocacy efforts are impressive. She’s a great representative of the department and how our students bridge their scholastic work to their passions. She’s tireless! I’ll think I’ve caught up with what she’s been up to and then turn around to find she’s given a TEDX talk or is publishing an article."