My name is Brady Ferguson and I am a senior at American University in Washington, DC. I am a student in the School of Public Affairs and the School of Communications with a double major in Political Science and Public Relations. I am also a member of the School of Public Affairs Leadership Program where I am studying Advanced Leadership. I am originally from Douglassville, Pennsylvania, and I moved to Washington, DC to further my education in an environment that emphasizes the need for effective communication in an urban setting.
         Community service has always been a large part of my life, and I have looked to bring this drive to the projects that I have partaken in on campus thus far. Through four years in the School of Public Affairs Leadership Program, I have conducted research on two different topics, one in a group and one by myself, and have turned the research into action projects. In my first year, a group of students and I took on the issue of how religious ideologies and practices affect the outcomes of women’s reproductive healthcare in the United States. From this, the group and I managed to inform an audience on social media about the need for women’s reproductive rights, and raised money to buy feminine products for women in need. In my second year, I took on the issue of the Untied States special education system, and looked to find the effects that the system had on the post-graduation endeavors of neurodivergent students. Through this research, I developed a social action project called “Connections.” This program would be implemented into an elementary school to help neurodivergent students develop social skills in a natural setting. I am very eager to use my passion for community service to implement a program as important as this one into a school in Washington, DC.
          At American University, I have obtained leadership positions in the SPA Leadership Program as the Co-Director of the program, as a Communication Intern for the American University Athletics, and I have earned a spot on the Dean’s List for the six semesters of academics at AU. I hope to utilize and grow through the leadership skills I have obtained so far to pursue a job in public relations.