Grant Clark is the President-Elect of the political science honors society, Pi Sigma Alpha (Zeta Tau Chapter), and was also recently elected as Vice President of EMU’s Mock Trial team. With his deep involvement in EMU’s Political Science department, it’s no surprise that his interest in political science began long before college. Growing up in Pinckney, MI, he has always had a passion for history and social studies. He originally came to EMU to pursue a career as a social studies teacher, but redirected his focus after gaining more exposure to the Political Science Department. Clark has recently been designated as a "Political Science Student of the Year" at the Political Science Awards Banquet earlier this month, alongside Dale Justice Jr. and Jack Zelazny.

His Undergraduate Symposium presentation titled “Should Citizens or Politicians Draw the Lines?”, investigated the effectiveness of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC), who sought to redraw party lines to achieve fairer elections. His research discovered that, for the most part, the MICRC upheld their promises and saw significant improvement in the redistricting of voter maps. Supported by his thesis advisor, Dr. Joshua Koss, Clark intends to continue his research in pursuit of a PhD program after completion of his undergraduate degree. He has also been invited to collaborate with Dr. Koss on a book chapter to be published in an upcoming text on Michigan politics. 

“I 100% recommend the Undergraduate Symposium,” Clark stated, “[because] to further any research, regardless of medium, you need to make connections.” The networking opportunities at the Undergraduate Symposium are just as important as the research being shared. The Symposium brings a wide variety of subjects together, fostering collaboration and connection-building that may not otherwise flourish.