Lauren Cottrell ‘26

Lauren Cottrell is a sophomore Political Science major and Theatre minor at the University of Notre Dame. She recently transferred to Notre Dame this year from the University of California, Berkeley. During her time at Berkeley, she enjoyed singing in her acapella group and working as a Junior Marketing Associate for an app startup company. At Notre Dame, she is currently a member of the Marketing Committee for the Kellogg Institute’s Human Development Conference. She is also the Special Projects Manager of Notre Dame’s Circle K International Club. Her primary research interests have coalesced around three topics: great power politics, the nuanced relationship between religious freedom and a nation’s economic prosperity, as measured by GDP per capita; and the profound impact of the media on shaping public opinion. She is excited to cultivate her abilities and understanding of effective research methodology.