Francesca Bentley

Francesca Bentley is a rising third year at Spelman College, where she is pursuing a B.A. in political science with a minor in psychology. In the spring of 2020 her research investigating cognitive dissonance's effects on expecting adolescent women's views on pregnancy was published in Spelman's research journal Continuum. Since beginning her undergraduate studies, Francesca has studied and worked abroad twice, which has only fueled her affinity for international relations and foreign policy. This summer, Francesca is working with faculty at UC San Diego's Center for Peace and Security Studies to investigate how countries relate to one another on a deterrence basis. Following graduation Francesca hopes to attend graduate school with the purpose of acquiring an MA in International Relations. As her research of adolescent pregnancy and repeated work experiences with refugees and asylum seekers exhibit, Francesca possesses a passion for highlighting under-recognized disenfranchised populations, which she hopes to further fulfill through the Pulitzer Center Campus Consortium Reporting Fellowship.