By Andrew Nonnemacher and Andy Baker
Successfully completing a degree as a triple major is a rare feat for anyone, but Kavya Kannan聽(CU, '22) managed to do it while serving as CU's student聽body president and while being an activist for several different causes at CU and abroad. Her efforts earned her one of the most prestigious awards at CU: Outstanding Graduate in the College of the Arts and Sciences. This award goes to one person from among the thousands of graduates that finish with a major in arts and sciences each year. Kavya graduated this past spring聽summa cum laude聽in Political Science with majors in International Affairs and Economics as well. As she compiled this impressive academic record, she also worked to increase access to women鈥檚 healthcare products on campus and to create聽a fund for sexual assault survivors. In her last few weeks at CU, she helped organize a 5-kilometer footrace to raise money for the latter.聽In a recent interview for this newsletter, Kavya discussed the impact of being a Political Science major at CU on her outlook and future career trajectory.聽
Kavya's interest in Political Science with an emphasis in the international realm began as a freshman when she took "Russian Politics" with Professor . In this class, Kavya聽was encouraged to focus on one subject area and to 鈥渞eally get a thorough understanding of it.鈥� She chose to focus on sex trafficking in Russia, and her work eventually got published聽and helped lay the foundation for her senior thesis. This and other courses in Political Science taught Kavya that 鈥渢here is more than one side to any issue and that all sides of the issue are valid.鈥澛營n turn, she says that 鈥渋t is very easy to have our own beliefs, but the true test of how committed we are to those beliefs is being able to argue them in front of others who don鈥檛 share the same beliefs.鈥澛燢avya credited her ability to effectively argue and communicate her ideas and beliefs to the various essays, debates, and discussions routinely held within Political Science classes.
Outside the classroom, Kavya was able to translate the quantitative and qualitative analytical skills she learned from her Political Science degree to two different internships. Initially, she interned at a think tank in Washington, DC, called the 鈥淔oundation for the Defense of Democracies.鈥澛燱hile there, she conducted research on China鈥檚 threat to US hegemony. She also interned at the DC Public Defender鈥檚 office, where she observed the federal and state courts at work and further developed her professional writing and research skills.
Kavya finished her studies in CU Political Science by writing an honors thesis entitled "The Variation in聽Female Sex Trafficking across Indian States and Union Territories."聽In her thesis, she focuses聽on female sex trafficking rates in India聽and seeks to explain why rates are higher in some parts of the country than in others. Kavya investigates聽correlates of sex trafficking such as women鈥檚 education about HIV/AIDS, the effectiveness of contraceptive methods, and poverty.聽Ultimately, her thesis is 鈥渋mportant in demonstrating the nuanced nature of sex trafficking and how solutions need to target not only socioeconomic factors聽but also financial empowerment conditions of women to be truly effective.鈥�
Kavya accomplished a lot during her time at the University of Colorado, but she is not done creating a legacy for herself. Currently, she is traveling throughout Europe, and intends to start a new聽job this fall on the East Coast.聽After working for a few years, she plans to attend law school to become a lawyer to utilize her ability to effectively communicate and argue with individuals who share different ideas and values.聽According to Kavya, the CU Political Science Department has given her more than just an education鈥攊t has given her 鈥渁聽support system, an arsenal of tools for the real world, and truly a home."