Alumni

Welcome Alumni!

Welcome to all alumni! 

International relations majors are accomplishing incredible things in Michigan and all around the world. We love to hear from you! If you'd be interested in being featured in one of our spotlights, send an email to [email protected] with a picture and some or all of the following:

  • Name, major(s), minor(s) (optional), and year of graduation from GVSU:
  • Describe your accomplishment (education, work, voluntarism, etc.), and optionally, anything you did previously (just a couple of sentences or as much as a page):
  • Anything you’d like to mention about how your classes, professors or activities at GVSU prepared you for your current path (optional): 

If you are looking to make contact with fellow alumni, check out the GVSU PLS and IR alumni Facebook group.

If you need a letter of recommendation, you'll find our letter of recommendation guidelines here, and faculty contact information here

We look forward to hearing from you!

Spotlights

Kristina Bray Spotlight

Kristina Bray

2013 Graduate Working as Customs Compliance Officer

Marie Edouard Spotlight

Marie Edouard

Graduate of Harvard Law School, Attorney at Goodwin Proctor LLP in Washington, DC

Courtney Johnston Spotlight

Courtney Johnston

Entrepreneur Founds Copywriting Business

Shingi Mavima Spotlight

Shingi Mavima

Ph.D. in African and African American Studies, Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies, Michigan State University

Matthew Brainovich Spotlight

Matthew Brainovich

Program Analyst, National Preparedness Assessment Division, FEMA

View More Spotlights

Distinguished Alumni

Periodically, the Political Science Department is asked by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to invite a Political Science or International Relations alumnus to campus for the Distinguished Alumni-in-Residence program. The program provides a venue for departments to invite outstanding alumni back to campus to share their post-graduation experiences with the GVSU community.  Through the program, our distinguished alumni have the opportunity to share their insights about what constitutes strong academic preparation for students.

Political Science and International Relations Distinguished Alumni-in-Residence:
James Spaanstra 2005
Edward Cardenas 2006
Bob Monaghan 2007
James Meernik 2010
Nerina Cevra 2012
Richard Damstra 2015
Tim Zeeb 2017
Alan Dunklow 2019

Distinguished Alumni

Tim Zeeb Spotlight

Tim Zeeb

Managing Director in Finance

James Meernik Spotlight

James Meernik

Political Science Professor

James Spaanstra Spotlight

James Spaanstra

Energy and Natural Resources Attorney

Richard Damstra Spotlight

Richard Damstra

Foreign Service Office, U.S. Department of State

Edward Cardenas Spotlight

Edward Cardenas

Media and Communications Expert

View More Distinguished Alumni

News

Diven Honored with Award

Diven Honored with Award

Professor Polly Diven received the 2025 Hillman-Orr Award from the World Affairs Council of West Michigan.

Jun 23, 2025

Avabella Madison awarded the Batchelder Political Science Scholarship

Avabella Madison awarded the Batchelder Political Science Scholarship

The Political Science Department is pleased to recognize Avabella Madison as our Batchelder Scholar for the 2025-2026 academic year.

May 13, 2025

Noah Boggs Awarded the Paul B. Henry Congressional Internship

Noah Boggs Awarded the Paul B. Henry Congressional Internship

Noah Boggs, who has a double major in Political Science and International Relations, was awarded this years Paul B. Henry Congressional Internship and will be working in Representative John Moolenaars office in Washington, DC this summer.

May 6, 2025

PLS Major wins the Thomas M. Seykora Award

PLS Major wins the Thomas M. Seykora Award

Political Science major, Nancy Boyd, won the Thomas M. Seykora Award for Outstanding Contribution for 2024-25. The Seykora Award recognizes seniors who, through their involvement, have made significant contributions to the GVSU campus community.

May 6, 2025

Retirement of Professor John Constantelos

Retirement of Professor John Constantelos

The Department of Political Science announces the retirement of Professor John Constantelos, who taught European and EU politics, international political economy and a variety of world politics and research methods courses for thirty years at GVSU.

Apr 22, 2025

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Events

There are no upcoming Events at this time

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Page last modified October 25, 2019