German language? Check. German literature? Check. German politics? Check. Sally Hudson '10 seems to have it all covered.
A government and German double major and economics minor, Hudson is working on a senior honors project that will allow her to combine her love of German politics and culture.
Hudson is researching German nuclear energy policy, and according to her advisor, Assistant Professor of Government Laura Henry, "how a country like Germany arrived at this energy policy and how it changes over time."
After she studied abroad in Vienna, Austria, Hudson became further interested in German politics and, particularly, energy policy.
"My interest has grown the more I have found out about it," she said.
Much of Hudson's research is on press releases and official reports issued by the German government, namely those of the German Federal Environment Ministry.
"I assessed the tone of the ministry toward energy and how that changed in the last 10 years or so," she said.
Henry added that the members of the coalition and their political priorities are major components of Hudson's research.
According to Henry, Hudson has found that the changes also have "to do with other policy concerns, like concerns with climate change and concern with energy security."
Though Hudson lived in Stuttgart, Germany, for four years and has been doing independent work on unification literature with the German department, she said the research she has been doing for her honors project has allowed her to learn "a lot about Germany that I didn't really know very much about."
"I got more involved in [the political] aspect of it," she said.
She said being able to speak German "makes it a lot easier to do...research."
Henry added that Hudson has an "incredible language ability in German that allows her to utilize government reports and press releases and other resources in German."
Henry said she too has found Hudson's work to be a learning experience.
"I get exposed to German sources that I otherwise wouldn't get to see because I am not a German speaker," Henry said.
Henry credits Hudson's achievements in research so far to her self-motivation.
"Sally has a tremendous ability just to sit down and get different segments of the project done...She comes in with really interesting material and we can have a conversation about it," Henry said. "I don't have to push."
Hudson said that the work "is stressful and a little overwhelming, but...definitely worth it in the end."
"I honestly love what I am writing about," she said. "Writing so many pages about a topic, you really have to have a passion for the subject."
Her passion for the topic inspired her to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship in Lithuania, where she hopes to study the ramifications of a recent shut-down of a the country's only nuclear reactor.
Hudson said Lithuania is now working on erecting a joint reactor with Poland, and she hopes to be able to examine "the process of how a reactor is commissioned, how they are doing it within the limits of the E.U."
Hudson cited the support she received from professors as furthering her love of nuclear energy policy and for motivating her desire to continue her study of the subject next year.
"I have really a lot of gratitude for the encouragement I have gotten from my professors," Hudson said.
With such a supportive network, she says, "it has been a really great experience."