VCU news

By Molly Manning

Natasha Romero Moskala has already achieved an impressive resume of research experience in the span of her undergraduate career: She recently completed a summer research program at the Global Diversity Lab at MIT and worked in VCU’s Diplomacy Lab program for the Department of State. Yet, the Virginia Commonwealth University senior took her learning to the next level this fall: Her mentor recommended her for a role in an Ivy League research project exploring American election systems.

Romero Moskala is pursuing dual degrees in political science in the College of Humanities and Sciences and business with a concentration in management/business administration in the School of Business. She has focused most of her political science undergraduate studies on Latin America, including the intersection of authoritarianism, corruption and elections. But in October, her focus returned to the U.S. when she was hired as a research assistant on the Guinier Project, which is hosted by the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice at Harvard Law School.

“The fact that I was even considered for this project is such an honor,” she said. “These opportunities don’t come around every day.”

And when they do, the circumstances can be truly rewarding.

Romero Moskala was introduced to the Guinier Project by Alex Keena, Ph.D., associate professor in VCU’s Department of Political Science. Keena has extensively researched electoral systems, including the impact of gerrymandering, and was invited in September to work as a fellow on the project. It is a compilation of research for civil rights attorneys about how reforms to voting systems – including evolving from the common winner-take-all method to semi-proportional and proportional approaches – could affect democratic, multiracial representation.

A graduate student at Harvard was assigned to work with Keena but ended up with a conflicting obligation. Because VCU doesn’t have graduate students in its political science program, Keena recommended his former student for the research assistant position – and Romero Moskala was selected.

Her responsibilities for the Guinier Project included collecting sources, reading and annotating dozens of academic articles and synthesizing that information into outlines for the book chapter that Keena and Romero Moskala co-authored. Keena compared the work to the equivalent of writing three senior theses in a single document and had high praise for his protégé’s efforts, which included joining him for a scholarly feedback session last month.

“It was challenging for me,” Keena said of his work, “but for somebody who’s an undergrad, it was very impressive.”

For Romero Moskala, the experience became a deep dive into a fresh topic and the opportunity to embrace a higher level of involvement. It also offered lessons beyond academia.

“I learned how to do research in a group setting,” she said. “These are all those soft skills that you don’t necessarily learn in a classroom. I feel like it’s learning that I can apply to future projects and endeavors.”

In early January, all contributors to the Guinier Project were invited to share their research with civil rights attorneys and scholars at a roundtable in Puerto Rico. Romero Moskala and Keena said the feedback for their work was positive, and sharing it was a rewarding experience.

Keena emphasized how his support for Romero Moskala reflects VCU’s interest in students translating their academic pursuits into impactful efforts beyond the classroom and how their research works toward a real-world impact.

“We actually care if our scholarship affects the real world,” Keena said of VCU. “With this research, we’re trying to promote the values that are part of this American project, which is equality. And our research in this regard is oriented toward achieving that goal, which is a more just society and a more equal democracy.”

Romero Moskala said the overall Guinier Project experience – especially as an undergraduate – has intensified her interest in political science. She hopes to enter a Ph.D. program, building on the research lessons, networking and collegial insight she gained from working with Ivy League doctoral students.

“Just getting to talk to them and learn about their experiences has been so helpful as I prepare to apply to graduate school,” Romero Moskala said. “Seeing their trajectories in academia and in political science as a whole has been such a great experience.”