Tate Rider

---

Tate Rider has striven to conduct and promote undergraduate research throughout his college career. As a student of early American history he will graduate with a major in history and a minor in political science. Rider used a summer research stipend provided by the College Honors Program to analyze original archival material from the 18th century at the New York Historical Society and the New York Public Library.

Rider also received the Ingram Research Scholarship, which allowed him to complete an extensive senior thesis on the political thought of the Loyalists in Revolutionary America. In his thesis, Rider looked to early modern Europe as the intellectual and philosophical basis for pro-British arguments during the British American imperial crisis (1763-76). Rider established a framework in his thesis that he hopes will help historians better understand the nature of the Loyalist position.

Besides his own research, Rider has worked diligently to support the research projects of his peers. Since June 2005, Rider has served as the editor-in-chief of Aleph, the official UCLA undergraduate research journal for the arts, humanities, social sciences and behavioral sciences. Aleph provides a forum for undergraduates to publish their work and raises awareness about the interesting and innovative research with in many UCLA students are involved.

Outside of academics, Rider has also dedicated his time towards programs on campus that help ease the transition experience for incoming UCLA students. As a peer mentor in the Peer Advising Network, Rider provided academic and personal advising to new freshmen and transfer students during their first two quarters at UCLA. In addition, as part of Honors Fellows—a leadership group in the College Honors Program—Rider has helped establish the Honors Interactive Program, which provides mentoring to incoming honors students. Rider also has served as a writing composition tutor in Covel Tutorials and as a workshop leader on career and internship preparation in Academics in the Commons.

Of the many positive experiences Rider had at UCLA, two stand out. First, Dr. Jessica Wang in the department of history allowed Rider to participate in her graduate seminar during his junior year. The opportunity to undertake the challenge of graduate coursework as an undergraduate gave Rider a glimpse of what academia looks and feels like at the graduate level. Second, Rider was able to enroll in an honors seminar taught by former Secretary of State Warren Christopher. By working closely with one of the nation’s most respected policymakers, Rider had an opportunity that students at other universities could only dream of. Rider will graduate from UCLA in June 2006 with college honors, departmental honors with the highest distinction, and a 4.0 GPA. He intends to pursue a career in policy research and public service.