In high school, Sarayu Cheemalapati (A&S ’26) was nearly unstoppable as a debater. By her senior year at Council Rock North High School in Newtown, PA, she was ranked as one of the best in the country. Her specialty was congressional debate, where individuals take on the role of a member of Congress, writing and building support for their legislation.
“The better I did at the competitions, the more I thought a career in law might be for me,” Sarayu said. “So, I did an internship at my local DA’s office and loved learning about law and, in particular, public service law.”
Sarayu began to look at universities with great pre-law and political science programs. Pitt’s focus on encouraging undergrads to do research helped it rise to the top.
“Congressional debate taught me a lot about research, and with Pitt being the R1 institution it is, I have been able to quickly shift from debate research to other types of research,” Sarayu said.
The pre-law and political science major found a research opportunity within weeks of coming to Pitt and has never stopped. She worked under the mentorship of Department of Political Science Teaching Assistant Professor Jacob Schiller successfully completing her Bachelor of Philosophy thesis.
You can read the full story on the Chancellor's Circle Update.