Each year, the New Hampshire Institute of Politics’ Academic Advisory Committee selects students to be granted the Gordon Summer Research Fellowship.
This program enables highly motivated students to pursue undergraduate research in the areas of their choice.
This year, the advisory committee named Taisiia Illichevska ’26 and Brianna Moran ’26 as the 2025 Gordon Scholars.
Taisiia Illichevska ’26
A junior Data Science and Analytics major from Kyiv, Ukraine, Taisiia’s research will be titled “Alternative Vote and Electoral Stability in Polarized or Post-Conflict Societies.”
She will study how political polarization is perpetuated by certain voting systems and why options such as Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), sometimes referred to as Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), can be more effective in the election of a moderate candidate.
To conduct her research, Taisiia will utilize computer simulations of elections under different voting systems to determine whether the implementation of IRV’s impact on electoral stability can be mathematically proven.
“I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity to be a Summer 2025 Gordon Fellow,” she shared. “This fellowship empowers me to pursue meaningful research, challenge myself intellectually, and contribute to a field I'm passionate about.”
Brianna Moran ’26
A junior Politics major with minors in Campaign Management and History from Hudson, Massachusetts, Brianna will be studying the following topic: “Experiencing Hegemony: Masculinity in The Joe Rogan Experience.”
She will analyze the polarizing podcast through the lenses of gender and masculinity. This summer, she will focus on collecting data from a wide range of episodes.
“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with Professor Lucas on this project, which I will build upon next semester for my senior thesis,” Brianna shared. “I am immensely grateful to the Institute of Politics for this opportunity.”
Following the completion of their research, Taisiia and Brianna will present their findings at the Showcasing Our Art and Research (SOAR) or another campus research event in the coming year.