Dominic Pope is a recent graduate from Seton Hall University, where he earned a B.A. in Political Science, Minoring in Criminal Justice. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 3.918 GPA and was on the Dean’s List for every semester he attended Seton Hall. He then went on to complete his M.A. in Public Administration at Seton Hall and graduated in May 2024. During his time at Seton Hall, Dominic spent three years competing on the mock trial team during which he earned 11 individual awards and was a member of the 2023 nationals team. He also served as president of the team, which led to him discovering his passion for public administration. He managed travel accommodations for the 12 tournaments the team attended in the 2023 season, raised $30,000 of funding from Seton Hall’s administration, and coordinated over 40 volunteers to judge at Seton Hall’s very own Pirate Invitational.Outside of mock trial, Dominic chose to spend his time working on several academic pursuits to develop his understanding of the world around him. He shared his research into logic and its intersection with humor at the Petersheim Academic Exposition, giving his presentation, “Humoring Humanity: Logic And Its Implications To Humor”. This research explored the logic, or lack thereof, in humanity’s infatuation with comedy. He spent much of this time building models of joke delivery and structure. During the 2023 school year, Dominic also wrote his 25-page senior thesis detailing the growing wave of political extremism in Michigan in the context of the 2022 Gubernatorial election.Beyond academics, Dominic has a variety of work experiences to develop his mindset as a young professional. Prior to attending Seton Hall, he worked at Goch & Sons Towing based in Southwest Detroit. Dominic learned to thrive in high-stress situations and developed an intense work ethic that he carries to this day. Dominic also has experience in teaching others, as he spent two summers teaching high school students the fundamentals of law and mock trial at the Envision Intensive Trial Law program. He also held the position of Peer Mentor & Tutor in the RISE program at Seton Hall, which provides services to students disadvantaged in the university environment. He currently works as a legal assistant at Michigan Legal Services, a nonprofit dedicated to providing free aid to people facing eviction in Detroit.