Emily Goliver (Class of 2019)

photo of Emily Goliver

  • junior Political Science and Journalism double major
  • from Dublin, OH
  • studied abroad in London (Spring 2016)
  • Fellow for Hillary Clinton presidential campaign; summer intern for Ohio Democratic Party
  • plays club field hockey
"At first it was a bit annoying that I had to take classes, such as biology, that had nothing to do with my interests. But I found that the broader perspective of the liberal arts provides me with the worldview and baseline understanding of a lot of different things that I can use in the future. It's really important to be able to recognize different viewpoints and understand different things about the world."

Why Miami?

"Miami's study abroad and away programs were really appealing to me. At the time I was particularly interested in Inside Washington program, and that convinced me to apply. And then, when I was visited for Make it Miami and saw the campus, I said to myself, 'This is home.'

"As the younger sibling, I had 4 years of being the only child at home. This made my first year a bit difficult, as I was still missing home and had a pretty rough roommate situation — but by the spring, when I studied abroad in London and gained a lot of real independence, I finally had my feet under me and knew I was going to be fine.

"While I was still struggling my first semester here as a freshman, I was thinking of transferring to a school near Boston to play field hockey — but Kevin Fitzgerald, an advisor in Miami's Global Initiatives office, was awesome in helping me discover a study abroad program that was perfect for me. He helped me with every step of the process, and that trip played a big factor in my decision to stay — and I play for Miami's club field hockey team now as well!"

Best Miami Experiences

Emily Goliver completes her ballot.

"The people at Miami provide all sorts of opportunities for friendship, study abroad, internships, employment — and if you talk to your professors about your interests they can help set you up with practically anything you want.

"I've made lots of great friends in the field hockey team, especially Chloe Schaefer, Emily Hussey, and our past president, Devan Chakroff. My study abroad experience in London through a program called AIFS was also amazing.

"The biggest thing for me, however, has been getting involved in the Hillary for Ohio presidential campaign in 2016. They hired me as a fellow, which meant I was an official student representative here on campus, and it was a stressful yet fun experience that ultimately led me to a summer internship with the Ohio Democratic Party in Columbus. Luckily, field hockey was a great stress reliever all throughout!

"Through the campaign I became very close with Kirby Chandler, who graduated last year. She was very passionate about the causes the campaign stood for, and working with her was an inspiration for me.

"Two faculty members in particular have offered me great guidance and encouragement: my sophomore year English professor, Isaac Pickell (now at Wayne State), who told us in ENG 111 to write about things we were passionate about, and Christopher Kelly, a great lecturer in several of my political science classes, like POL 345G, which covered the 2016 election. It was largely through their classes that I discovered my joy in writing and decided to become a journalism major.

"Having taken different political science classes along with a number of other liberal arts courses, I've been able to see what area of politics I want to go into as a career. Politics are very broad, but I've learned that I really enjoy campaigns, which focus on putting politics into action, more than the scientific aspect of politics."

Miami and the Liberal Arts

"At first it was a bit annoying that I had to take classes, such as biology, that had nothing to do with my interests. But I found that the broader perspective of the liberal arts provides me with the worldview and baseline understanding of a lot of different things that I can use in the future. It's really important to be able to recognize different viewpoints and understand different things about the world.

"I like that political science, specifically politics, is really something that anyone can do. You don't have to be the smartest person in the room but simply want to help people. During the 2016 presidential campaign, I thought it was very cool seeing everyone get excited about voting and the political process, and I hope that sense will never go away.

"As for journalism, I see it as such a fundamental part of our society. It was so important that even our Founding Fathers decided to include freedom of the press in the Bill of Rights. I believe that almost everyone should basically understand how journalism works, and I like that the journalism major covers different aspects of journalism and gives us really in-depth knowledge of the daily headlines."

Actively Participating in Ohio Politics

Emily talks about her experience as the Ohio Democratic Party chief of staff's intern.

Hands-on Political Internship Video Transcript

Advice to Students

"Simply being open to the differences that you are going to see in the world is important. I originally wanted to go to law school, but after taking different classes I realized that I didn't really want to do that. Opening yourself to change and different ideas and working hard even in the classes that don't have anything to do with your major are important too.

"It's best to start early and figure out what you want to do. Do research on the best classes that will get you where you want to go — just find something that you really enjoy doing. When I was with the Ohio Democratic Party, I was so excited to go to work that I felt kind of bummed on the days that I had off. I think that if you have something that you enjoy that much and don't dread going to work everyday, you'll end up pretty happy.

"Finally, just get involved in something that's going on. During the Clinton campaign we saw a lot of people who were just not political at all, but they just wanted to help out in some way. I thought this was very cool, and seeing their passion for what was going on was a great source of inspiration."

[March 2018]