Riley Gailey named 2026 Outstanding Senior in global and international studies

April 30, 2026 - Kelly Smith

Riley Gailey, a double major in global and international studies (GLIS) and sociology, has been named the Center for Integrative Studies’ 2026 Outstanding Senior. 

Growing up just 30 minutes from campus in Williamston, she arrived at Michigan State University with deep Spartan roots and an equally strong appreciation for education. “I am the youngest of three siblings, and my mother is a middle school teacher, so I have always grown up with an extreme appreciation for education, both from an educator's point of view and a student perspective,” she said. 

MSU culture, she added, was always close to home. “I would say that MSU culture has been pretty ingrained in me from a young age. I grew up watching MSU football and basketball with my family,” she said. Over the last three years, that familiarity—and proximity to family—became something she increasingly valued as she carved out her own academic and personal path. 

That path did not begin in GLIS. When she first arrived at MSU, she planned to major in sociology, building on interests sparked in high school. But a background in Model United Nations and an emerging interest in policy opened the door to something more interdisciplinary. With encouragement from her advisor, Regan Kania, she began exploring GLIS as a second major. “He walked me through what GLIS was about and how it helped shape the career path I wished to explore, which started to center more on international affairs,” she said. “I also really appreciated how personalized and interdisciplinary GLIS was, allowing me to explore different areas of interest while fulfilling my major requirements.” 

That interdisciplinarity would become a defining feature of her MSU experience—academically and beyond the classroom. When she learned she had been named the 2026 Outstanding Senior in GLIS, her initial reaction was disbelief. While she split her time evenly between sociology and GLIS, much of her visible leadership had been through sociology, where she served as president of the Sociology Club. “I didn’t expect to really be picked out as a star student,” she admitted. But what she has come to value most about GLIS is precisely what the award recognizes. “When I meet students from the department, they are all pursuing starkly different pathways—I think that’s what makes the major so great.” 

Mentorship played a central role in her success. She credits Kania not only for academic guidance but for pushing her to take risks. “He encouraged me to run for an e‑board position in the Sociology Club, which eventually led to my three-year tenure as president and really set the stage for giving me the confidence to explore many more opportunities at MSU,” she said. She also points to Nicolas Gisholt and Eddie Boucher as influential figures. “When advisors and professors are passionate about the work that they do, it really kickstarts a student’s passion for their own interests,” she said. “It’s clear they all really care about their students and take the time to ensure their success and well-being.” 

Her MSU story is marked by deep involvement: leadership in the Sociology Club, service through the Honors College Service Club, work with New Student Orientation, and research experiences including the Human Rights Lab. Study abroad opportunities in Belize and Brussels further shaped her perspective. “The Belize program, in particular, taught me the importance of reframing how we enter a community’s space and the ways that we learn from individuals who are experts in their own environments,” she said. 

This fall, she will take her next leap—beginning a master's degree in international relations at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.  

Reflecting on her path, her advice to incoming students is simple but powerful: “Try things. Try the things you think you will hate and try the things you think you will love. You really have to be a little bit delusional that the best‑case scenario is possible,” she said. “You just have to take the leap sometimes.”