URI Political Science students Debora Bema, Brianna Knight, and Kyra Guerin are preparing to take the next step in their academic careers.

Debora Bema will attend the University of Iowa. She will pursue research on conflict, governance, and peacebuilding in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on how state responses to illicit mining shape violence and community outcomes. Her work examines how security-force interventions, natural resource politics, and local enforcement strategies can either escalate conflict or support more durable peacebuilding efforts.

Brianna Knight will attend Rutgers University. She will study civil-military relations, democratic backsliding, and the growing role of security forces in political life. Her research focuses on how militaries shape political outcomes, especially as democratic erosion blurs the line between civilian and military authority.

Kyra Guerin will attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for a Ph.D. program focused on political psychology.