Senior Story 2020: Politics Major Breaks Into Journalism
Date published: May 14, 2020
Name: Mary Rose Corkery
Hometown: Mansfield, MA
Major: Politics
Notable UD Memories/Achievements: Friendships Formed; Complementary Classes and Liberal Arts Education; Running Cross
Country; Early Mornings at the Cap Bar; Participating in the Alexander Hamilton Society;
Being a Fellow of the American Public Philosophy Institute
Future Plans: Beginning a Fellowship as a Daily Caller Reporter
This is the fifth in a series of eight stories that will be published to highlight the achievements of some of our seniors
in the Class of 2020.
Sitting in her bedroom at home, away from UD for her last weeks of college, Mary Rose
Corkery, BA ’20, cannot help but think about being on campus. She wishes for more
of her favorite moments, like sitting on the Cap Bar patio after an early morning
run, sipping coffee and waiting for campus to wake up. To see a place that is usually
so vibrant and alive so quiet always filled Corkery with a peaceful silence that cannot
be replicated — but this is only one of many ways in which UD affected Corkery.
Corkery decided when she was in middle school that she would go to UD. She heard a
family friend talking about UD’s classical liberal arts education, and determined
that UD was the college for her right then and there. During her application process,
she remembered that decision and, though she ultimately chose for UD for better reasons,
she did not let her middle-school self down.
Going into UD, Corkery knew she wanted to be a politics major. Corkery’s mother immigrated
to the U.S. from Korea at a young age, which has given Corkery a particularly deep
appreciation for America and the principles it upholds. Corkery especially loves UD’s
approach to politics — the way the politics classes taught her a philosophy of being
human and then gave her a practical application of this knowledge.
The most influential learning experience Corkery had at UD was during a semester in
which she found herself in extremely complementary classes. While she was taking her
first upper-level classes in politics, she was also taking American Civilization I
with one of UD’s most beloved teachers, Associate Professor and Chair of History Susan Hanssen, Ph.D. Corkery says that the combination of Hanssen’s fundamental understanding of
the nature of man in relation to the organization of government was not only very
enjoyable, but also foundational to her education.
In her free time, Corkery spent much of her time running for the cross-country team,
which she was on for the majority of her semesters at UD. In addition to being a student-athlete,
Corkery participated in the Alexander Hamilton Society and was a fellow of the American
Public Philosophy Institute. Each of these activities pushed her to excel and in doing
so pushed her out of her comfort zone.
However, the activities and the classes were only byproducts of the education of which
Corkery was really in pursuit. Ultimately, through her experience at UD, Corkery wanted
to grow in her relationship with God in such a way that it became a part of her every
day, a part of her career.
“Going to the University of Dallas gave me the chance to rise to the challenge to
grow in my relationship with God and see this relationship manifest itself in developing
deep self-knowledge and the rarest yet best of friendships,” she said.
This growth, Corkery finds, transcends anything COVID-19 has done to her UD experience.
While she would rather COVID-19 had not interrupted her semester, she says it illuminated
her experience at UD by showing her many of the ways by which UD has blessed her life.
Upon graduation, Corkery will move to Washington, D.C., where she will begin a fellowship
as a reporter with the Daily Caller News Foundation. She is extremely grateful to
the UD Alumni Network for connecting her to this organization. Looking with anticipation
toward the future, Corkery cannot wait to make her alma mater proud.