Gordon Dakota “Koty” Arnold
2018 John Jay Fellow
Hometown: Summerfield, North Carolina
College: Regent University
Degree: B.A. in Government, Minor: History
A native of rural North Carolina, Gordon Dakota “Koty” Arnold attended Regent University in Virginia Beach where he graduated in 2017 with a degree in Government. His studies ignited a passion for political theory, and he intends to enroll in a doctoral program in the Fall of 2018 to research the American political tradition, religion and politics, and classical political philosophy.
At Regent, Koty served other students as a writing tutor, in which capacity he endeavored to enrich his peers’ ability to produce cogent scholarship. Soon after graduating, he published his first two essays on the political philosophies of Augustine and Jonathan Edwards, and is currently in the process of publishing two others on Protestantism in the American Constitution and President Calvin Coolidge’s adherence to the classical model of political statesmanship.
Koty presided over Regent’s chapter of the National Political Science Honor Society, represented the senior class in student government, and was awarded fellowships from the Acton Institute, the Koch Institute, and the Institute for Humane Studies. His political work included internships with a Ben Carson Super Political Action Committee, the National Right to Work Committee, and the Leadership Institute.
Koty believes that the John Jay Fellowship is the most exciting opportunity thus far, and he is thrilled to partake in vigorous discussion with his peers on the great ideas of Western civilization. He intends to relate these ideas to the world around him and investigate their convergence with the Holy Scriptures.