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WVU students selected for legislative internships

Six students from the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences will serve in the West Virginia State Legislature this semester. 

Each student was selected through a competitive application process and will experience lawmaking first-hand throughout the legislative session, which runs Feb. 8 through April 8.

Walter Rollins Scholars

Benjamin Spurlock, a graduate student in public administration, was selected as a Rollins Scholar and is assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee. A Dunbar, W.Va. native, Spurlock served as a 2014 Frasure-Singleton Intern for the state legislature.

Walter Rollins Scholars participate in the lawmaking process by researching relevant issues, preparing for floor deliberations and monitoring legislative activity.

Professor of Public Administration Christopher Plein is the WVU faculty contact for Rollins Scholars.

Judith A. Herndon Fellowship

Mariah Felty, Andrew Matus and Michael Petik were selected as Herndon Fellows. Felty, a junior political science major from Charleston, W.Va., is a McNair Scholar with a research emphasis in women’s health policy. Matus, a Bethesda, Md. native, is a senior political science major and member of Phi Sigma Theta National Honor Society. Petik, from Martinsburg, W.Va., is a junior studying political science and economics. He also works as a systems administrator for the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

Herndon Fellows assist a state senator or delegate with research and various staff functions. They develop an understanding of the politics of legislation, legislative research, bill drafting, the role and function of committees and the executive-legislative liaison. 

Associate Professor of Political Science Jason MacDonald is the WVU faculty contact for the Herndon Fellowship.

Frasure-Singleton Interns

Samuel Ollis and Jacob Powers will serve as Frasure-Singleton Interns for one week during the legislative session. Ollis is a sophomore international studies student from Washington, W.Va. and is a member of the WVU Debate Team. Powers is a senior political science student from Morgantown and studied abroad in Mexico last summer as a Gilman Scholar.

Frasure-Singleton Interns attend daily sessions, committee meetings and public hearings while aiding their assigned legislators with issue research and constituent requests.

Political Science Department Chair Scott Crichlow is the WVU faculty contact for the Frasure-Singleton Internship.