Annina Bradley
Government and French
Boise, Idaho
What was your favorite class and why?
GOVT 4021: American Conservative Thought with Professor Bensel. Bensel is brilliant at leading seminars and I truly learned how to embody political theory perspectives different from my own. I remember thinking, this is everything I hoped university classes would be like!
What is your main extracurricular activity and why is it important to you?
For all my four years at Cornell, I was heavily involved (and eventually the editor in chief of) Cornell Claritas, a student magazine of Christian thought. Our weekly club meetings represented a space where I was able to dialogue academic and cultural questions with my peers as we sought to build a thoughtful journal each semester. Through Claritas, I found a group of friends who were inquisitive and curious, who wanted to live an examined life and who helped me deepen my love of literary writing and editing.
What are the most valuable skills you gained from your Arts & Sciences education?
Critical thinking and the ability to conduct pointed political science research. I also have gained intellectual humility, learning through exposure to many academic fields the truth and resonance of the phrase “the more you know, the less you know.”
What have you accomplished as a Cornell student that you are most proud of?
My senior honors thesis explores the politically socializing function of churches and how church-goers can differ in their partisan attitudes. By interviewing congregants across the country, I have grown in compassion and understanding for perspectives different from my own.
How have your beliefs or perspectives changed since you first arrived at Cornell?
Humans are more similar and different than I ever expected. Learning is not linear.
Every year, our faculty nominate graduating Arts & Sciences students to be featured as part of our Extraordinary Journeys series. Read more about the Class of 2026.
