Political science department welcomes Linsey Moddelmog

 

Linsey Moddelmog, a new political science lecturer at Washburn University, has always been immersed in politics.

“I grew up in a political family,” said Moddelmog.

She said that her grandfather would engage her in political discussions when he babysat her. As a young woman, Moddelmog became more and more interested in history.

When she began at Washburn University as an undergraduate, she realized that, in order to get her questions about human behavior answered, she would need to go into political science as well.

She had always wanted to study Latin America, and her initial interest was in political corruption in that part of the world. After her questions regarding that topic were answered, she continued on and started studying electoral systems, getting her undergraduate degree in history and political science. She did her graduate work at the University of Kansas.

Moddelmog loves traveling and has done her fair share of it. She’s traveled to Nicaragua and Brazil among other places and speaks Portuguese.

“Everything about Brazil is amazing,” said Moddelmog.

One thing Moddelmog recommends is studying abroad, and she traveled to Brazil to do this twice. During the trips, she said she was completely immersed in the language and culture. She lived with a family that didn’t speak any English, but was used to housing American students.

Moddelmog highly recommends studying abroad to every student and states confidently that it will be the “best experience [a student] will have in college.”

Moddelmog stays politically active in her community in Lawrence by involving herself in the Link program in her church, which helps feed the needy. She also helps out with the English as a Second Language program with daycare and occasionally participates in fundraisers through Ecumenical Church Movement. In her spare time, Moddelmog likes to spend time with her family. She runs and plays kickball during the summer with a league in Lawrence. She’s also a former Lady Blues basketball player and says she still likes to get involved with sports on campus when she has time.

Having gone to both a small and a large university, Moddelmog says she’s glad to be back at Washburn. She loves the small class sizes and feels she has a vested interest in her students’ future, as she sees many of them for several classes and knows them well.