WKU News

Bridget Beavin is ready to build a career of teaching, advocacy and service on the foundation of confidence, research and leadership established at Western Kentucky University.

Beavin, a History and Political Science major and Mahurin Honors College student from Louisville, was selected as the spring 2023 Ogden Foundation Scholar, WKU’s top undergraduate academic award. Her goals include earning a doctorate in history then becoming a college professor.

“I want to teach people to challenge the way they think. I want to start conversations. One day I want to run for office whether it be local or statewide. I think that’s something that is really going to be important to me,” she said. “Outside of a job as a professor, I want to get really involved in the community. I want to be someone people can rely on to speak up.”

Beavin credits WKU History faculty members like Dr. Audra Jennings and Dr. Marko Dumančić with helping build her confidence and overcome a fear of public speaking.

In Dr. Dumančić’s courses, students speak in front of their classmates as part of “Reacting to the Past” simulation games. “You’re not saying your own words, you’re saying the beliefs of a historical character from the past so it feels a lot easier to say them. That built my confidence,” Beavin said. “I’m grateful for that. That’s really one good thing our department does is encourage people to speak in front of others.”

Beavin uses her voice for LGBTQ+ advocacy as president of Out in Honors Network, which was founded in the fall of 2020 to promote the queer community in the Mahurin Honors College and to promote diversity on campus.

“People come in all shapes, sizes, personalities, outfit choices, everything. Promoting that visibility helps more people feel comfortable with their identities,” said Beavin, who will speak on May 2 at WKU’s Lavender Recognition Ceremony, an annual event to celebrate and recognize the achievements and contributions of WKU’s LGBTQ+ and Ally graduates.

“I think the point of college is you get to meet all different types of people with different viewpoints. After my first year of college, I saw all these amazing people around me being leaders, using their voices. I thought, ‘What can I do?’”

Beavin decided she had the ability and the responsibility to “speak up for people who probably don’t feel comfortable speaking up. That’s something that I’ve really enjoyed getting to do in college in a myriad of ways.”

At WKU, she was a member of the PCAL Dean’s Council of Students, the History Club, HonorsToppers, the History Department’s Committee for Justice and Equity. Her awards include the Cherry Presidential Scholarship, Richard Salisbury Award for Excellence in Latin American History, A.M. Stickles Award, Berkshire Conference on Women Historians’ Fellowship, Betty Hoch Evans Political Science Award, and Potter College Dean’s Council Shuffield Award.

Beavin said WKU puts students first. “It’s evident in how we are taught by professors who are experts in their field, and it’s evident in how I have made personal connections with faculty and staff across campus. When I toured WKU, I was so impressed by how students weren’t treated as numbers. WKU is perfectly sized, large enough for big opportunities and small enough that students receive the individual attention they deserve.”

Beavin will be recognized as the Ogden Foundation Scholar during WKU’s Spring 2023 Commencement at 6:30 p.m. May 4 at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium.

Like other members of the Class of 2023, Beavin has learned how to pivot in a WKU experience that has been marked by a global pandemic.

“I would say that is the experience of most people my age who started college in 2019,” said Beavin, the daughter of Chris and Andrea Beavin. “When we were sent home in 2020 and we were all on Zoom, it was like the wildest thing ever. Suddenly I had my cat sitting on my lap for every class. Then you come back and things changed every year. The whole first year we were masking and social distancing. The next year we did some of that then we transitioned back. Now it is fully operational. So it has been a lot of adjusting.”

The adjustments included Beavin’s study abroad plans. COVID impacted plans for a semester abroad experience during her sophomore year. Then a junior year trip to Russia was canceled after the invasion of Ukraine. As a senior, however, Beavin took a Winter Term trip to Italy.

“I have had to pivot several times, but I think it also has made us all a lot more resilient and flexible. We’re able to adapt to change which is something I think my class in particular is going to have strong skills in.”

Beavin developed her research skills through Political Science coursework on public policy opinion polls and completed her Honors thesis on the social implications of cosmetic advertisements in the 1950s.

She also spent a summer in Washington, D.C., as an intern for Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York. The internship “taught me a lot about myself but also about politics, working with others and people you don’t agree with, how to build bridges.”

In a letter of recommendation, Dr. Jennings said: “Bridget Beavin will make a tremendous difference in the world. Whenever I start to worry about the future, Bridget is one of the people about whom I think to assure myself of the promise of a better tomorrow.”

“Dr. Jennings has supported and empowered me in every way imaginable by being the best mentor possible,” Beavin said. “She has helped immensely as the advisor of the student group I lead, encouraged my love of history as my department head, and been a fantastic professional and personal role model. I owe her gratitude for multiple letters of recommendations, opportunities, and confidence in my abilities.”

Finding a mentor tops Beavin’s list of advice for incoming students.

“Number 1, I would say definitely get a faculty mentor. Faculty mentors are invaluable. They help so much with everything. They help you with recommendation letters, offer you opportunities, and most of all build your confidence.

“Number 2, I would say to challenge yourself with something every semester whether that would be joining a new club, applying for a job, or taking a class you know is hard even if it’s not necessary. I think those things really build you up as a person and lead to things that are more valuable.”

Things like being selected as the Ogden Foundation Scholar.

“When I got the email, I was like this cannot be happening,” she said.  “I was really excited the day after I heard about it. It felt like a nice celebration of all the hard work I’ve put in, but also really good for the humanities in general. Humanities scholars are worth investing in.”

#WKUGrad series: As part of our #WKUGrad series, articles on graduating students are shared in the weeks leading up to Commencement. See all of their stories at https://www.wku.edu/news/articles/index.php?view=default&categoryid=799&multinewsid=187

-WKU-

Western Kentucky University prides itself on positioning its students, faculty and staff for long term success. As a student-centered, applied research university, WKU helps students expand on classroom learning by integrating education with real-world applications in the communities we serve. Our hilltop campus is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which was recently named by Reader’s Digest as one of the nicest towns in America, just an hour’s drive from Nashville, Tennessee.