Ben Mackillop

Ben Mackillop is a second-year student at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and a member of the University Honors Program and Pi Sigma Alpha, the political science honors society. Moving from his rural hometown of Lancaster, New Hampshire, to UNH came with a culture shock, as he interacted with students of diverse backgrounds and political views. He began to consider how living in a rural as opposed to an urban area can impact people’s political views. This inspired his research into how New Hampshire representatives vote based on the place that they represent, and how often their votes oppose party lines. Ben completed this research through a Research Experience and Apprenticeship Program (REAP) grant. Participating in this project taught him how to perform effective research under the safety conditions in place due to COVID-19, and he hopes that his article will encourage other undergraduate students to pursue research opportunities. As part of an accelerated B.A./M.A. program, Ben will graduate in the spring of 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, with minors in economics and security studies, and then in 2023 with a master’s degree in political science. After that, Ben plans to pursue law school.