Each year, our sophomore Tower Scholars sit down with the NexPoint Tower Scholar seniors to interview them so that they can create a “Senior Spotlight” blog post highlighting the senior’s unique story. Seniors share their journeys to develop a well-informed perspective on policymaking and international affairs through a combination of theory and practice in the program, alongside their multidisciplinary major courses of study. The conversations captured reflect the experience of our scholars and their learnings not only in the Tower Center but at SMU overall.
Ruth Kinyua ’26 interviewed Averyl Hartje ’24 to learn more about her time as a NexPoint Tower Scholar to understand how the program has shaped her experience at SMU and how it will continue to shape her in the future.
A senior graduating in 2024, majoring in Theater and minoring in Public Policy & International Relations, Averyl Hartje
Averyl Hartje is from Portland, Oregon, and majors in political science and theatre (acting emphasis) with a minor in public policy and international affairs. Averyl did theater when she was eight years old and professionally acted in theater in high school in her hometown, which drew her to pursue a theater degree.
Outside of being selected as a Tower Scholar, Averyl is a Hunt Scholar due to her leadership positions throughout high school and a Hilltop Scholar demonstrated by her academic achievement. Averyl’s admission to the Hunt Scholars Program allowed her to familiarize herself with the Tower Center, which led her to fall in love with the opportunity to have first-hand experience in policy working and use her passion for international relations to develop her policy-making skills. Averyl is also the Lead Peer Advisor for the SMU Study Abroad Office.
On campus, Averyl has continuously served as a leader and voice for students in her roles as a student representative to the Board of Trustees, member of the Student Affairs Committee, Meadows Senator, and Chair of the Organizations Committee. Averyl has also demonstrated her case strategy abilities by ranking as a top witness at the Open Round Championship in her SMU Mock Trial competitions.
As a Tower Scholar, Averyl has enjoyed bonding with her cohort on policy projects and gained insight into economic development plans. Specifically, during her junior year Washington, D.C. trip, Averyl admirably called upon learning more about the operations and complexities of the federal government which confirmed her desire to pursue foreign affairs.
Averyl has also pursued SMU-in-Tuscany in Florence, Italy to enhance her Italian and immerse herself in the culture. Through her experience, Averyl recalls her challenging transformative experiences of being immersed in a different culture yet cherishes her intimate experiences which she could not get only in a classroom. Averyl has also pursued an internship in Czechia working in a law firm and talked with people from society about their way of life through the Velvet Revolution of communism that America has yet to understand.
Averyl’s policy area of focus is human trafficking with a specialization on domestic violence. Averyl has written a policy memo to the Office of Violence Against Women under the Department of Justice that investigated the intersectionality of domestic violence and human trafficking and how those cases are prosecuted.
Upon graduation from SMU, Averyl is planning to move to New York City and would like to eventually pursue a master’s degree in foreign affairs.