Posted on February 6, 2024 by Honors College
Seven UTSA students were selected to participate in the prestigious Bill Archer Fellowship Program for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Seven UTSA students were selected to participate in the prestigious Bill Archer Fellowship Program for the 2023-2024 academic year.
The program, which takes place each fall and spring for undergraduates and in the summer for graduate students, selects talented students from across the UT System and provides them with the opportunity to live, work and learn in Washington, D.C.
Archer Fellows get an in-depth look at policymaking, history and advocacy while interning full-time with various offices and organizations around the nation’s capital. Students choose where they will intern based on their professional goals and academic interests, with past fellows working in offices at the White House, Capitol Hill, the Supreme Court and federal agencies and nonprofit organizations across D.C.
Victoria Kidder and Emily Seddighzadeh are two of 48 undergraduate students selected for the Spring 2024 cohort.
Kidder is a junior at UTSA, double majoring in political science and economics. She is doing a federal internship for her Archer Fellowship this semester.
On campus, she competed as part of the first UTSA Mock Trial team, returning as the attorney captain the following year and assisting in the creation of a trial and appellate advocacy class. She also served as a junior senator in the Student Government Association and as the director of academic achievement for her sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha. Off campus, Kidder was a UTSA Legislative Fellow, where she interned full-time for the Texas Senate Finance Committee and Texas State Senator Joan Huffman (SD-17) during the 88th Legislative Session. She has also interned in the San Antonio district office of U.S. Senator John Cornyn (TX) and for San Antonio City Councilwoman Ana Sandoval. Developing a passion for public office, Kidder has worked on a U.S. congressional campaign and served as field director for a campaign in her hometown. After graduation, she plans to attend law school to navigate the intersection between law and economic policy in order to help reduce socioeconomic inequity.
Seddighzadeh is a senior at UTSA, majoring in geography and environmental sustainability with minors in public administration and policy and civic engagement. She is interning at the John W. Kluge Center at the U.S. Library of Congress for her Archer Fellowship this semester.
On campus, she has held offices with a variety of organizations, including the Terry Scholar Student Organization, Geography Society, Green Society, and the United Nations Millennium Fellows. During her research on Iran's water crisis, she adopted a keen interest in the intersection of environmental policy, human rights, and international relations. Off campus, Seddighzadeh interned with the San Antonio Housing Authority and San Antonio Botanical Gardens through the city's Ambassador Program. After graduation, she plans to attend law school to pursue a career in environmental law.
Thomas Fugate, Sebastian Gallegos and Justus Mendoza completed their Archer Fellowship in Fall 2023.
- Fugate is an Honors College senior majoring in politics and law. He interned with The Heritage Foundation for his Archer Fellowship.
- Gallegos is a senior in the Honors College majoring in finance. He interned with the U.S. Department of Commerce during his Archer Fellowship.
- Mendoza is a junior Honors College student majoring in politics and law. He interned with the The Daschle Group during his Archer Fellowship.
Learn more about them on UTSA Today.
Additionally, two UTSA graduate students were selected to participate in the Graduate Archer Fellowship this Summer 2024.
- Janet Ekezie, Masters in Public Administration
- Sahil Khoja, Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
The application deadline for the 2024-2025 Archer Fellowship for undergraduates is February 15. You do not have to be part of the UTSA Honors College to participate in this program. All eligible UTSA undergraduate students are welcome to apply.
Visit our Archer Fellowship page to learn more about the program and how to apply.
— Honors College
