Student Profiles

The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences is very proud of the accomplishments of our students. Please check back often for new stories about them. And click here for a complete listing of students whose stories have appeared on these pages.

Student Stands Out in STPEC
“In a way, my involvement in high school propelled me toward UMass,” says Liam Keller Lynch ’13 (STPEC). Besides being president of his class junior and senior year, Lynch was a member of National Honor Society and marching band, was a prom planner, and worked on various fundraisers. For college, he sought a big school with many opportunities and broad acceptance of the queer community. Read more...

Law Looms Large in Student’s Dreams
Ashley Berger ’13 (legal studies/history) claims to have entered UMass as the average freshman. However, as she progressed through her undergraduate career, Berger’s determined attitude and drive to succeed made her a standout. Incredibly ambitious, Berger’s motivation to study law began at home. Read more...

Promoting Positive Interchange through Environmental Cooperation
On her first trip to Nicaragua in high school, Clara Wool ’13 (environmental design/Middle Eastern studies), who is also a Commonwealth Honors College student, discovered her passion – environmental issues, planning and international development. Her interest only grew when she participated in several additional social action trips to Central America before she even started college. Read more...

Econ Grad Student Wins Award for Exceptional Paper
Congratulations to PhD candidate Daniel MacDonald (economics) who won the Horvat-Vanek Prize for his paper, “Understanding the Sources of Productivity Growth during Industrialization: An Empirical Investigation of the Dynamic Properties of Piece Rate Contracts.” The prize is awarded every two years for a research paper of exceptional quality written by a young scholar in an area of interest to International Association for the Economics of Participation. Read more...

Selection as Student Commencement Speaker Fulfills Goal
It’s no secret that many of this year’s graduates will be facing difficult challenges in the coming months. When Isaac Himmelman ’12 (political science) addressed the Class of 2012 at Commencement on Friday, May 11, his message to them put their futures in perspective. Read more...