Katie Rose Bonner of Lytle, a senior political science, history and Guy D. Newman Honors Academy major at Howard Payne University, represented HPU this summer as a participant in The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) internship program.
Bonner received a full scholarship from the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation and an expense stipend from the Guy D. Newman Honors Academy.
In addition to this honor, Bonner excelled in the Economics of Regulation and Ethics & Leadership courses she and other TFAS scholars took through George Mason University, where she was recognized as the top student in Ethics & Leadership with the Outstanding Student Award.
“I am immensely proud of Katie for receiving the George B. Peabody Award as the 2014 Outstanding Student from The Fund for American Studies and George Mason University’s Institute on Business and Government Affairs,” stated Dr. Justin D. Murphy, director of HPU’s Guy D. Newman Honors Academy and dean of the School of Humanities. “It is an honor to have a student of her caliber in the Guy D. Newman Honors Academy at Howard Payne University.”
Through TFAS, Bonner interned for the American Chemistry Council, the largest trade association in the chemistry industry. Her responsibilities included researching and drafting an advocacy letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Committee, attending House Committee hearings and conducting a study on the National Science Academy’s committees that issue toxic chemical reports for legislators and regulators.
Bonner was selected by TFAS as the student speaker at the annual Congressional Student Awards Dinner which garnered more than 400 senators, lobbyists, CEOs and program sponsors.
Bonner voiced her appreciation for the program.
“TFAS has provided me opportunities to visit government institutions I might have otherwise only encountered through reading,” she said. “Interacting with individuals who play a critical role in our nation’s government allowed me to make some incredible contacts and receive sound career advice from highly successful individuals.”
Bonner is pictured above on the HPU campus.