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Generally speaking, a senior honors thesis in political science wouldnt seem to have big screen potential. But as Angela Sherwood 04 spins the first-person story of a lone 21-year-old international election monitor in a former Soviet Republic -- coping with ruling party bosses, intimidating policemen, and an addled voter declaring himself to be Joseph Stalin and shouting his intention to vote for himself -- it seems worth shopping the concept to a few studios. At the very least, Sherwoods thesis, an examination of Azerbaijans transition to democracy, will make for a well-informed read, rich in detail and personal perspective.

Through a summer 2003 internship at the United States embassy in Baku and a return trip to serve as an international monitor for the presidential election last October, Sherwood has been both close observer and active participant in the former Soviet Republics governmental change.

The UVM seniors powers of observation and a considerable measure of courage were on the line when, together with an interpreter, she was the only Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe official assigned to polling station #2 in Masalli, a small city near Azerbaijans border with Iran. The Precinct Election Commission, the majority of whose members were from the ruling YAP party, was determined to test the young womans power, including suggesting that they could just take the ballots to a back room to count. And, she neednt come along.

Fed up with the tricks and games of the commission members, Sherwood announced that if the voting procedure manual wasnt followed, she would declare the precincts votes invalid in her report to the OSCE. Amazingly enough, this captured the attention of the commission, and they immediately started feigning innocence at their past actions, and quickly took out the manual and started following each step in exact detail, Sherwood says.

When the precinct vote count showed the opposition party candidate, Isa Gambar, prevailing over the ruling party candidate, it was more than a little uncomfortable. Previously the celebrity of the precinct, I suddenly began to receive looks of hatred as the young American girl who would be responsible for them losing their jobs, Sherwood recalls. But once all the votes were counted nationwide, the ruling party candidate, Ilham Aliyev, prevailed.

Throughout her experience in Azerbaijan, Sherwood says she was struck by how the diehard ways of life in an authoritarian state contrasted against a new sense of nationalistic pride and citizens desire to show off their countrys progress as a democracy.

Things might have gone down a little differently at Masalli polling station #2 without Sherwoods presence, and she might not have been there without a little help from a number of funding sources at the university. With a pricey plane ticket between her and Azerbaijan, she sought out help from Honors College Dean Robert Taylor. He helped her find a number of funding sources -- including the Area and International Studies Program, the College of Arts and Sciences APLE Scholarship Fund, John Dewey Honors, and the Honors College -- to make the trip happen.

Sherwoods experience in Azerbaijan was her second major academic-related trip abroad. She previously spent seven months studying in southwestern China, and both experiences make her a strong advocate for the growth potential in study abroad.

Theres no better way than foreign travel to find out who you are, what kind of society you live in, and what kind of world you live in beyond that, Sherwood says. Placed in a different society where there are some things you love and some things you cant stand, everything is uncertain. You transcend the idea of nationality and realize youre part of something greater, and you learn that through friendships and experiences.

Sherwood is polishing her Russian these days in preparation for possible post-graduation work in Kazakhstan. Thailand and China are also in the running, and further down the many roads she is poised to travel, Sherwood envisions graduate school in international relations.

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