Researching Interactional Bargaining Alongside Leadership Development

Benji spent the summer continuing his thesis research on interactional bargaining in Congress, a project conducted under Professor Scott de Marchi in Duke University’s Political Science Department. The research focused on using tweets from members of the U.S. House of Representatives to classify Congress members into party subgroups with the end goal of building a bargaining model with explanatory power over House operations. His work included refining classification models using a dataset of over one million tweets, creating and testing policy-based classification buckets, and laying the groundwork for his senior thesis, which will build on this research in an independent capacity.

In parallel with his research, Benji also worked as an Assistant Director at a summer camp, managing daily operations, supervising nearly 20 staff members, and overseeing the well-being of close to 100 elementary schoolers. This unexpected leadership role required him to develop and adapt his management style, balancing authority with collaboration. The experience deepened his understanding of practical leadership and reinforced the importance of integrating personal interaction with professional responsibilities. While his research remains a significant focus, this dual role highlighted the value of combining intellectual work with direct engagement in leadership and problem-solving.