Election years are busy for political scientists----data to collect and interpret, national trends to analyze, and predictions to test. For Courtney Edwards, a senior political science major, 2008 is especially exciting. She’s at work preparing a substantial research project on voting patterns, working as a legislative aide in the South Carolina General Assembly, and eagerly anticipating December graduation.     

For the past year, Courtney has worked closely with other scholars, both undergraduates and faculty, to study a phenomenon known in political science circles as the Bradley Effect. Specifically, she is examining the viability of African American candidates with white voters and attempting to account for the inaccuracy of pre-primary polls. Her research, funded partially by a University of South Carolina Magellan Scholar Fellowship, is timely in this extraordinary political year. With her research partners, Courtney is conducting a national survey as the basis for her study. She looks forward to promising results that will shed light on American voting patterns, and hopes to present her findings at the Southern Political Science Association meeting in January 2009 and at the National Conference of Black Political Scientists later that year.

When Courtney arrived at the University of South Carolina as a freshman in the fall of 2005, she looked for a way to find her niche in University life as well as decide on and prepare for what promises to be a distinguished career. As a student, Courtney has committed to a demanding schedule of classes, work, and service to the University and the broader community. She has worked in the University’s Office of Disability Services, where she interacts with a broad range of students needing assistance with the transition into and throughout college life.  She continues to serve as a legislative aide for Representative J. David Weeks and Representative Robert L. Brown in the South Carolina House of Representatives. Both of these experiences have profoundly influenced her decision to study law after she completes her undergraduate degree; the latter has given her an appreciation for the origins of laws and legal reasoning, while the former has shown her the continuing need for advocacy. For Courtney, a legal career is the means to lead and stand against injustices.     

The daughter of Dale Edwards of Decatur, Georgia and Dorothy Edwards of Sumter, South Carolina, Courtney has served as a University Peer Leader, vice-president of the Criminal Justice Association, and a member of the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity. Last year, she was named as the winner of the 2008 Rising Senior Award for the political science major.      

There have been numerous people who have helped Courtney achieve her success to date, but especially Professor Todd Shaw of the Department of Political Science. As Courtney’s academic advisor and mentor, Professor Shaw has encouraged her research interests and introduced her to other political scientists working in these areas. Courtney credits him with instilling in her the confidence to design an important research project, seek funding, and then present her findings at scholarly meetings. Courtney sees Professor Shaw not only as a scholarly model, but as a mentor who has inspired her to achieve her all of goals.

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