STSC Senior Brittany Leknes/Policy Studies concentration
Senior Thesis Topic:
Compares the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching with
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's United States Program, which
focuses on education initiatives. The thesis identifies how these huge
foundations address/have addressed the different problems in education
in the early 1900s and today, as well as how they fit into the broader
picture of both education reform and foundations in the United States.
Why I choose this project:
I chose this project because I was looking for a way to connect all of
my interests together. When I started researching the Gates Foundation
last year, I found myself wondering if this huge organization was
one-of-a-kind, or if there has been a history of organizations like it,
which brought me to incorporating the Carnegie Foundation. This thesis
brings together elements of my favorite STSC classes, such as STSC 003
(Technology and Society), and pairs them with my favorite courses in my
concentration.
How STSC fits into my long-term goals and has helped me grow:
STSC allows me to focus on what I am interested in, while helping me
take a step back and see how it fits into a broader perspective. I am
interested in education, education reform, public policy, the role of
corporations, and how huge concentrations of power affect education. As a
Policy Studies concentration in STSC, I have been able to pair my
technology classes within the major with education reform classes and
other courses on public policy. At this point, I know that I want to
work in education, and I feel that my background will help me bring a
new perspective to this huge national problem.
