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Maya Huffman, a sophomore Honors College student with a double-major in political science and psychology and a minor in prelaw, is excited to be starting the first semester of her Senior Honors Thesis in the spring of 2021. Though only in her second year, Maya’s experiences and connections at Kent State have helped her discover a topic that she is so passionate about, she has decided to conduct an honors thesis on the issue. Currently in the thesis preparation semester of her project, Maya hopes to focus her thesis on human trafficking and how it intersects with constitutional law and modern-day slavery.

Though Maya has always held a passion for advocacy, she highlights some of her experiences at Kent State for inspiring her to focus on human trafficking with her thesis. In the 2019-20 academic year, Maya was a member of the freshman Honors Leadership Academy (HLA). As a part of the HLA program, Maya had the opportunity to travel to Washington DC with her fellow members, where she met Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan. In their meeting with Congressman Ryan, the HLA students asked him about a number of human trafficking issues in Ohio, as well as different ways to address human trafficking. Inspired from her trip to Washington, Maya returned to Kent State and, with the help of another HLA member, founded , a student organization dedicated to educating the community about human trafficking issues. This trip to Washington, paired with her involvement in KSU Blue, were foundational to Maya’s thesis topic on human trafficking, constitutional law, and modern-day slavery.

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In addition to her experience with the Honors Leadership Academy, Maya notes that her connections with various Kent State faculty members have been helpful in the beginning stages of her thesis work. From her first semester at Kent State, Maya knew she wanted to complete an honors thesis, and to begin the process, she met with Thesis Coordinator Lori Michael. Maya recalls that Michael explained how an honors thesis would distinguish Maya as a law school applicant. With law school in mind, Maya recalls, “I knew there were a lot of intersections between human trafficking and law, so I figured, why not look at those issues together?”  

Aside from Michael’s initial guidance, Maya is also thankful for the ongoing support of her thesis advisor, Dr. Ashley Nickels, associate professor in Kent State’s department of political science. Currently in her thesis preparation semester, Maya is conducting extensive research to in order to develop a formal thesis proposal by the end of the spring 2021 semester—a task which can be overwhelming. Dr. Nickels, Maya explains, has a wide knowledge of political science literature and has been able to help Maya search more efficiently for relevant articles and journals.

When asked to reflect upon her work thus far, Maya feels she has already begun challenging herself to be a better critical thinker. “I’m not supposed to be regurgitating other people’s work,” she adds, “I’m extending other people’s ideas to a topic that has not yet been heavily researched, especially looking at all these intersections between human trafficking, constitutional law, and modern-day slavery.” This requirement for students to think independently is what Maya values most about the honors thesis program.

She also notes that completing an honors thesis is a unique way for students to showcase their academic abilities and “show you’re committed to your studies further than what is just the baseline.” Indeed, according to Michael, only about 12-14% of students on the Kent campus complete an honors thesis, making the honors thesis a sign of personal drive and unique academic interest. For Maya, the honors thesis is not only a way to exhibit her critical thinking skills to future law schools, but it is also an opportunity to “represent all of [her] compiled areas of interest” from social advocacy to law.

Maya is grateful for the opportunity to publish a Senior Honors Thesis through the Honors College, and she is excited to continue pursuing her multi-faceted areas of interest throughout her college career.

For more information about the Senior Honors Thesis/Project, please contact Lori Michael, the Senior Honors Thesis Coordinator.

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PHOTO CAPTION 1: Maya Huffman standing outside in her home town of Toledo, Ohio.

PHOTO CAPTION 2: Maya wearing a mask at her sorority house, Chi Omega.

PHOTO CAPTION 3: Maya and fellow Honors Leadership Academy students standing with Tim Ryan during their trip to Washington D.C.

Media Contact: Stephanie Moskal, smoskal@kent.edu, 330-672-2312