As a fifth-generation Arkansan, Booneville native Kayley Corley never imagined herself living anywhere else. But when she was awarded a prestigious John Paul Hammerschmidt Fellowship during her senior year at the University of Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµAPP – Fort Smith, that all changed.

 

Corley earned a political science degree in May of 2017, and following her graduation, spent the summer working in Congressman Steve Womack’s Washington, D.C. office as a UAFS JPH Fellow.

 

“Those six weeks in D.C. were some of the most challenging of my life, but if it weren’t for the JPH Fellowship, I wouldn’t have had the courage to come back to D.C.,� she said.

 

Corley, who recently earned her master’s degree in public service and administration from the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, is back in D.C., this time as a full-time legislative correspondent for Congressman Bruce Westerman. Corley says she is thrilled to be able to make a significant impact in her home state.

 

“I love Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµAPP, and making sure Arkansans’ voices are being heard is one of the best things about my life.â€�

 

In addition to working for Congressmen Womack and Westerman, Corley has also previously served as an intern for Senator John Boozman, and she attributes a great deal of her success in government to her time at UAFS.

 

“I would not be in the position I am now without the network I built at UAFS,� she said. “I was never ‘only a student’ at UAFS. There were countless people who saw something in me and chose to invest in me. UAFS was never just a school. It was a community and a home.�

Credits: 
Jessica Martin, Editor
Photo Credits: 
Submitted
Date Posted: 
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Source URL: 
https://news.uafs.edu/0
Story ID: 
5136