Eli Weber graduated from Northwest this spring with his Bachelor of Science degree in political science. (Photo by Lauren Adams/Northwest Missouri State University)

As Eli Weber moves on from Northwest Missouri State University to graduate school, he feels prepared to pursue a master’s degree because of the skills the faculty in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences instilled in him.

Whether he learned those skills by completing Dr. Brian Hesse’s research assignments or participating in talks with Dr. Luke Campbell that challenged him to think critically about topics, Weber says his coursework at Northwest laid a foundation for his interest in international studies and his desire to work toward a career in international conflict resolution.

“I have some of these skills that most students don’t learn until grad school,” he said.

Weber graduated Friday, May 6 with his bachelor’s degree in political science and is next advancing his education at the University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Studies.

He credits political science faculty Campbell and Hesse, as well as the late Daniel Smith, for their guidance as he persisted in completing his bachelor’s degree and selected a graduate program.

“They’ve been right by my side, gone above and beyond during this grad school process,” Weber said.

Although he enrolled at Northwest as an English major, an Introduction to American Government course with Campbell during his first semester as a freshman got Weber thinking about political science and changed his path. He made English his minor area of study and selected political science as his major.

In addition to becoming a member of the Pi Sigma Alpha political science honor society, he found his place and friendships as a member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, the Interfraternity Council board and the Order of Omega honor society. He also was a Student Ambassador.

The connections he established in those organizations also are providing dividends for him professionally.

“Greek life has been awesome for me,” he said. “I learned how to dress professionally, how to conduct myself in a professional meeting, how to reach out to other organizations, how to network. But one of the biggest things that helped me is the network of alumni that we have post-grad. All you need to know is ‘this guy was in the same fraternity as me and now we kind of have something in common,’ and things can kind of spark from there.”

As he reflects on his initial attraction to Northwest, Weber thinks he toured about 20 college campuses. But the special environment he felt when he toured Northwest made it stand out from the others. He noticed the meaningful relationships students build with faculty and the bond they have with the Maryville community. 

“This feeling of the true community that we have at Northwest is truly unique,” Weber said. “All the campus tours I went on don’t really have that feeling anywhere else. The feeling of community and the fact that a lot of the staff is very clearly vested in the students, and they want to make sure we are going to be doing what we love, what we’re successful in.”