Jamie Furr
Fall 2024 John Jay Fellow
Hometown: Lynden, WA
College: Whitworth University
Degrees: B.A. in Political Science; B.A. in Philosophy
Jamie Furr graduated Cum Laude with Honors from Whitworth University in May of 2024, with two degrees, a B.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in Philosophy, on the Pre-Law track, with a minor in Law & Justice. While a student at Whitworth, Jamie was the McDonald Scholar and personal research assistant for the chair of the Whitworth Pre-Law & Political Science department, Dr. Julia Stronks, and was involved in a variety of extracurricular pursuits, while maintaining several different leadership roles in campus organizations.
In the summer of 2022, Jamie served as a legislative intern for Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers and participated in the American Enterprise Institute’s Summer Honors Program. As an intern for Rep. McMorris Rodgers, Jamie handled phone, email, and letter correspondence for the Congresswoman, prepared briefing memoranda on a variety of issues for the office staff, and aided the Legislative Director in a wide range of tasks. At the American Enterprise Institute, Jamie attended a seminar on Muslim immigration and religious pluralism in America, learning from Dr. Matthew Kaemingk, who is from the same hometown as Jamie (Lynden, Washington), and Shadi Hamid, a well known Muslim scholar.
Jamie has also recently worked as an intern at the Heritage Foundation, specifically for the Simon Center for American Studies, as part of Heritage’s Young Leaders Program. Jamie already had substantive knowledge of the Constitution and American history, political philosophy, and jurisprudence, as a result of his studies at Whitworth, but this internship took Jamie’s knowledge to new heights and connected him with many wonderful people in the conservative policy and legal sphere.
On campus, Jamie worked in a variety of leadership roles. His sophomore year, he served as a Resident Assistant in Whitworth’s McMillan dormitory, where he improved his leadership and conflict resolution skills, working with a team of other RAs to make the dormitories a safe and fun place. His junior year, Jamie was elected to the position of Off-Campus representative and worked in the Associated Students of Whitworth University (the Whitworth student government). Here he moderated and participated in debates, voted on issues, submitted changes to the bylaws, and helped charter and found several clubs, including a club for politically and theologically conservative students. His senior year, he was a campus ministry leader, leading a Christian men’s discipleship group, and he served in the Christian “AWAKE” program, leading small groups, speaking, and volunteering to help the homeless community in Spokane. He also initiated and organized a townhall-style meeting between faculty and concerned conservative students who felt that their voices were actively being ignored by certain aspects of the Whitworth administration, helping to open dialogue and foster increased understanding between the two sides.
After his time at the John Jay institute, Jamie wants to find a job in the law and policy sphere either in Washington D.C. or his home state of Washington, and apply for law school.