Tia Westhoff
2016 John Jay Fellow
Tia Westhoff is originally from Petersburg, Iowa. After graduation from Beckman Catholic High School, she studied at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. There, her academic studies focused on the intersection between the Christian faith and the political life; through these studies, she developed an interest in the American Founders by way of their theology, where she found Christian principles were embodied in political philosophy.
In the summer of 2014, she interned for the Family Research Council in the Marriage and Religion Research Institute ; the following year, she interned in the Editorial Services department of The Heritage Foundation. Tia graduated summa cum laude from Benedictine College with degrees in Theology and Philosophy in December 2015. In the years ahead, Tia intends to labor in the domestic policy arena to work through ethical conundrums to craft solutions that uphold the dignity of the human person.