The Archer Center

Heidi Boutros Fall 2002

Heidi Boutros was an Archer Fellow in the Fall of 2002. During her time in D.C., she interned with two human rights organizations: Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (which recently changed its name to Human Rights First) and the International Justice Mission. After graduating from The University of Texas at Austin in May of 2004, she returned to D.C. to do criminal investigative work for the Public Defender Service. She now resides in Dallas but is hoping to move back to Washington in the near future.

Jessi Cassidy Fall 2003

Jessi Cassidy is the first Archer alumni to transfer from a UT satellite to the mothership, the best decision of her life after, of course, her D.C. experience. She participated in the program as an interdisciplinary studies junior from UT-Dallas, and will graduate May 2005 in philosophy and government from UT-Austin. After graduation, Jessica plans to study abroad for a year in New Zealand as a recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, hoping to experience an alternative to the American conception of the good life.

Andrew Chen Spring 2001

Andrew Chen was part of the inaugural Archer class of Spring 2001. During his time in Washington, he interned on the Asia desk of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Andrew graduated from UT-Austin in 2002 in history and Plan II Honors. Following a two-year sabbatical in Asia working, learning, and traveling, he is currently part of the Class of 2007 at the Harvard Law School.

Melissa Drosjack Fall 2003

As a journalism senior in the fall 2003 class, Melissa interned at the Houston Chronicle Washington, D.C., bureau. She decided to join the class of Archer Fellows after several friends highly recommended the program. Some highlights from her experience included surviving Hurricane Isabel's wrath on D.C., landing a front-page byline in the Chronicle and taking a tour of the West Wing. After graduating from UT in May, she moved to New Orleans to work for the Associated Press. However, the AP launched a hiring freeze, which opened up the option for her to get back to D.C. Now she works at a magazine in Falls Church, Va., as a copy editor. Soon, about half of her fall 2003 class will be back in D.C.

Anna Bell Farrar Spring 2001

annabell@alumni.utexas.net

Anna Bell Farrar was part of the Spring 2001 "inaugural" Archer Fellows class. She is pleased to have been a guinea pig for this wonderful program that has continued to grow and thrive. A self-admitted political junkie, Anna Bell dipped her toe in the private sector after graduation, but decided she missed the really luxurious life of a Hill staffer, and returned to D.C. She is now a two-year veteran in the press office of U.S. House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer. Anna Bell likes to explore the city during her free time, but still sorely misses good Mexican food and the sunny Texas weather.

Melanie Gleason Fall 2003

mel_gleason@hotmail.com

Melanie Gleason spent her Archer semester in the Environmentalist & Human Rights and Media departments at the national legislative office of Amnesty International. She represented AI in various environmental coalition meetings and issued the daily Human Rights in the News reports to the legislative office. Melanie returned to Austin in Spring 2003, and helped co-direct UT Votes, an initiative which helped register UT students and motivated them to vote in the upcoming 2004 Presidential Election. During the summer of 2004, Melanie interned in the Kerry/Edwards field office in New Hampshire, a swing state. She spent the fall semester organizing students throughout New Hampshire, where she was the State Youth Director for the Kerry/Edwards campaign. She is currently working as a Field/Development Assistant with the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas. Melanie will graduate in May 2005 as a Political Communication major with a minor in Business Foundations. She plans to do the Teach for America program or receive her Masters in International Relations after graduating.

Richa Gulati Spring 2002

rgulati@law.harvard.edu

Richa Gulati joined the Archer Program during spring 2002 at The University of Texas at Austin as a Plan II Honors Program major following receipt of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship for public service. Her academic interest in South Asia led her to join the South Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Her semester of research, writing, and interest in India at CSIS prepared her for enrollment after graduation into law school, where she is currently a third year student at Harvard Law School.

Patrick Hendrix Fall 2001

pat.hdx@alumni.utexas.net

Patrick Hendrix, a Mexican Citizen, was a Fall 2001 Archer Fellow. A Government and Honors Economics major with minors in Computer Science and Spanish, he had the good fortune of interning at the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) which hired him upon graduation in 2002 as an interim Congressional Liaison while his old boss went on maternity leave. At UNIC he had the pleasure to oversee Fall 2002 Archer Fellow Christina Maas and hire Spring 2003 Archer Fellow Heather Brown. He stayed on at UNIC at various positions and managed to squeeze in an afternoon internship with Congressman Brad Carson of Oklahoma. Now back in Mexico, Patrick works for PricewaterhouseCoopers dealing with international tax and trade issues. Patrick is also an active member of the Mexico City Texas Exes, and has faithfully organized Longhorn Football watch parties. He plans to go to graduate school and has an interest in returning to work in International Relations and Public Policy sometime in the future.

Albert Hicks Spring 2004

alberthicks@hotmail.com

Albert Hicks was a member of the Spring 2004 class and the first business major to participate in the Archer Fellowship. As a finance major and government minor who was looking for a way to combine both interests into one single experience, he found his semester in Washington particularly rewarding. Albert interned at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a government agency that provides loans and political risk insurance to U.S. companies investing in developing countries. Albert followed his experience in D.C. with an internship in New York, and will return to New York following graduation in May 2005 as an investment banking analyst at Lehman Brothers.

Richard Howell Fall 2003

richardhwl@hotmail.com

Richard Howell participated in the Fall 2003 class of Archer Fellows as a government junior. With previous work experiences in the Texas Governor’s policy office and with the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, Richard had a love of politics that made Washington, D.C., and the Archer Program a natural fit. There he worked for the White House, interning for the Deputy to the Senior Advisor (Karl Rove). Following his Archer term, he graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors, receiving his degree in three years. Richard plans to attend law school in the fall of 2005 and hopes to work in the public interest field.

Jennifer Mock Fall 2002

Jennifer Mock was an Archer Fellow in the Fall of 2002, or the later-dubbed 'Sniper Class.' While in D.C., she worked at Congressional Quarterly reporting on the 2002 elections. During her final semester at UT-Austin she worked in Gov. Rick Perry's legislative policy office, where she worked with the governor's education and transportation directors during the state legislative session. After graduating in May of 2003 with a Journalism degree, she took a reporting job at The Daily Oklahoman, where she had previously interned. But in the fall of 2003, her dream job came knocking and she left Oklahoma to return to D.C. and Congressional Quarterly to cover the presidential, congressional and gubernatorial campaigns in 13 states across the country (including Texas!!). With her job tied to the election cycle, she left CQ in February of 2005 to return to The Oklahoman to eventually cover state politics.

Stephanie Montgomery Spring 2002

steph_ut_03@yahoo.com

Stephanie Montgomery joined the spring 2002 class of the Archer Fellows as a Public Relations junior, a casual follower of politics, and a huge fan of Broadway and all things Longhorn. She returned to D.C. following graduation as a staff member in the Office of Public Affairs at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History--the same office where she interned during her semester as an Archer Fellow. In this position she is responsible for publicizing museum exhibition, events, donations and experts, and she has worked on projects ranging from an exhibition on Brown v. Board to the donation of the egg from Aliens. Stephanie also serves on the Archer Alumni Association Board, and is the Social Programs Director for the D.C. Texas Exes.

Edgar Morales Spring 2002

Edgar was an Archer Fellow from The University of Texas at Austin during the spring 2002 term. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in the spring of 2004 with a degree in Government and a Certificate in Population and Public Policy. He is currently a graduate student at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government where he is studying Macroeconomics and International Trade & Finance. He will attend law school after completing his degree at Harvard.

Christine Powers Fall 2001

christinepowers@alumni.utexas.net

Currently, Christine Powers is a second-year law student at SMU Dedman School of Law in Dallas. Since she is interested in trial work, this summer she will be clerking at a mid-sized civil litigation firm. She has been active on SMU's mock trial team which competed at the Georgetown Law White Collar Crime Mock Trial Tournament. Last semester she was a law clerk for Dodge, Anderson, Jones, Bezney & Gillman, working on complex class action litigation. Every week she volunteers by teaching fifth graders about law and the government, in addition to being a "big sister" in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Last summer Christine interned for the Honorable Jay Patterson in the 101st District Court. During college and before starting law school, Christine was a legal assistant for Walters & Turquand for three years. She was president, public relations director, and events director of Beta Alpha Rho Pre-law Fraternity. Having an interest in politics, Christine interned at the White House through the Congressman Bill Archer Fellowship program in fall 2001.

Mohan Rajagopalan Fall 2003

mohan@mail.utexas.edu

Mohan Rajagopalan was an Archer Fellow in the fall of 2003. A government major and political junkie Mohan came ready to D.C. ready soak up the political culture. He interned with the Peter D. Hart Research Associates where he spent hours helping to create public opinion surveys, analyzing focus groups and reading The Hotline. Highlights of Mohan’s D.C. trip including meetings Jesse Jackson and fellow Longhorn Paul Begala. He will be graduating in May 2005 and is contemplating either moving back to Washington or heading to the west coast.

Brittany Ross Fall 2003

britteross@hotmail.com

Brittany Ross was a member of the Fall 2003 class of Archer Fellows as a dual degree student in Communication Studies and Government. While with the program Brittany worked at EMILY's List in their Major gifts and Development department. She graduated in May 2004 and now works in Austin as a political media consultant. What she'll do and where she’ll be after the election remains a mystery, but check back soon for an update!