Ellen Rogers
Spring 2020 John Jay Fellow
Hometown: Fishers, IN
College: The Kings College
Degree: B.A. Philosophy
Elle Rogers graduated as valedictorian of The King’s College class of 2019 with a degree in philosophy. An Indianapolis native and East Coast enthusiast, Elle believes deeply in the American tradition. Her studies on the intersection of political life and character formation culminated in a senior thesis about Abraham Lincoln’s prescriptions for American political salvation.
Motivated by the Great Books’ account of justice in the city, Elle learned about the current state of the constitutional order through internships with the U.S. House of Representatives, the offices of the Manhattan District Attorney and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and the office of U.S. Senator Ben Sasse. Elle also interned for the Heritage Foundation, where she participated in Heritage’s annual conservatism vs. libertarianism debate.
Elle was active on King’s campus, serving in student government and founding the school’s Intercollegiate Studies Institute chapter. During her senior year, she designed a schoolwide film competition centered around Macbeth; her greatest accomplishment was watching the contest be designated one of three annual events for which student participation is mandatory. Elle was recognized for her efforts as a recipient of ISI’s DeVos Freedom Center Leadership Award. Upon graduation, she was named the Politics, Philosophy, and Economics student of excellence by department faculty and received King’s Wilberforce Award for representing the school’s mission to train students to vigorously engage the public square with truth and civility.
Following her time at John Jay, Elle will be attending the University of Chicago Law School and hopes to defend the Founders’ republic through the practice of law. She recently completed her third half marathon and enjoys using running as a pretext for consuming large amounts of pasta.