When Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honors society, honored Professor Gabriella Montinola this year for her work advising its UC Davis chapter Delta Upsilon, she quickly gave the credit to her students.
“I just oversaw their first plans, their elections and the first set of plans for events,” said Montinola. “We're up and running thanks to them. They've been a pleasure to work with.”
Outgoing Delta Upsilon president Ethan Percival, who led the club’s re-launch, sees it differently.
“She devoted countless hours to helping us build the chapter from the ground up,” said Percival, who graduated this spring with his degree in political science. “She connected us with university staff, with administrators who became valuable partners for our chapter, and I think those connections are still paying dividends to this day.”
Pi Sigma Alpha awarded Montinola the 2026 James Lengle Advisor Recognition Award for her exceptional dedication to her local chapter Delta Upsilon. This award comes at a time when the club has ambitious plans for expanding what it offers its members, political science majors and anyone else on campus interested in the field.
Restarting a student club from the ground up
The Delta Upsilon chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha was largely inactive when Montinola took over as its faculty advisor in 1997. When Percival approached Montinola to revitalize the club in 2024, she did all she could to help. She asked him and his peers to make a detailed plan, then gave the club freedom to make the chapter their own.
Montinola was always available to provide advice and support when they needed it. Sometimes she connected them with faculty and graduate students in the department and across campus. Other times she helped the club navigate UC Davis administration, like the time the club sought to raise its GPA requirements to match Pi Sigma Alpha national standards.
“I was so impressed by how they conducted themselves that I felt I could trust them,” said Montinola. “I didn't have to be hands-on with all their other activities. I just met with them periodically.”
In 2025, Delta Upsilon received a Best Chapter Award for 2024-2025 from Pi Sigma Alpha. It was among the six out of 830 Pi Sigma Alpha chapters at universities with over 25,000 students to receive this honor.
An open space for everyone interested in political science
In spring quarter 2025, Delta Upsilon hosted Davis mayor Bapu Vaitla and former Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg the previous fall. The event with Steinberg was particularly memorable for Percival. When it was time for questions, hands shot up across the entire packed audience. When the event ended, Steinberg stayed behind to shake each student’s hand as they left the room.
“It was a really encouraging feeling about the future of political science and the future of public service to have that many students coming in on a late Tuesday night to hear from the mayor of Sacramento,” said Percival.
Lorenzo Hazen, incoming Delta Upsilon president, said that the club is open to all political science majors regardless of their background or political beliefs. It’s a space for open dialogue, and seeing different viewpoints in itself is a valuable experience.
“We've actually been looking at ways that we can open up specific events for moderated, respectful dialogue, because I think it's very important,” said Hazen. “You can't study political science and also ignore the politics that are currently going on. I don't think it's possible.”
Hazen said he plans to expand opportunities for club members to learn about careers outside of law, the most common career path he has seen among political science majors. A political science degree can lead to many different career paths, he said, including staff jobs in elected offices, think tanks, non-profits and government agencies.
Hazen is working toward a career in diplomacy. He spent the summer in Wisconsin in an intensive language program to learn Indonesian with a Boren Awards scholarship, a government initiative that creates a pipeline for the federal workforce.
“Becoming a diplomat is a less common career path for political science majors, which is part of why I wanted to get this involved in Delta Upsilon,” said Hazen.
Percival graduated from UC Davis in the spring and this summer has worked as an intern in U.S. Congressman John Garamendi’s office. His internship is partly supported by a Pi Sigma Alpha Nancy McManus Washington Internship Scholarship.
Ambitious plans for everyone interested in political science
This year Hazen plans to expand events with graduate students from across UC Davis, given the success of the club’s first event with graduate students in the spring. He also wants to open the club’s events to any student interested in political science regardless of their major.
As an example, he mentioned Jalen Ward, a Ph.D. student in political science who took part in a club event this spring. Ward is studying how marginalized candidates, particularly Black women, adjust their messaging across their campaigns and online communications channels. Ward came to political science after majoring in psychology.
Delta Upsilon already has a slate of local and state elected officials as well as UC Davis alumni scheduled for the coming academic year.
As for Montinola, she decided to give the $1,000 cash prize that came with the Lengle Advisor Recognition Award back to the club.
“They absolutely deserve it, and I trust that they will make good use of it,” said Montinola.
Connect with Delta Upsilon online on Instagram @ucdpsa.
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