Laura Courchesne, a senior Honors Student and Foundation Fellow at the University of Georgia, is adding another prestigious title to her long list of accomplishments – she has been named a Rhodes Scholar, the oldest and most celebrated international fellowship in the world.
Although Courchesne is an economics and religion double-major, she has close ties to SPIA through her mentor Jeffrey Berejikian, a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of International Affairs. Courchesne works as Berejikian’s research assistant studying the impact of drone strikes on the psychology of non-combatant populations.
In a press release issued by the University, Courchesne said, “I am fascinated with what influences non-violent populations to begin endorsing and engaging in violence, the strength of social bonds within violent organizations, how resources shape organizational structure, and the types of relationships non-state armed groups form with civilians,”
Courchesne plans to pursue master’s degrees in social anthropology and politics research at Oxford in 2017. Laura is one of 32 students in the U.S. to be named a Rhodes Scholar and the 24th UGA student to be given the honorable distinction.
