Montserrat Zeron – a fourth-year international affairs student and Social Science Scholar – has made an impact at FSU through her dedication to research and community service.
Zeron received funding from FSU’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy’s prestigious Social Science Scholars Program, the American Institute of Physics, and an FSU IDEA Grant to pursue her research on space diplomacy.
She was most recently nominated for the Spring 2025 Honors Thesis Excellence Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in undergraduate honors thesis research at Florida State University. Students nominated for this award stand out as notable for the quality, rigor, and insight of their research. Approximately two percent of all graduating students at FSU complete a thesis project in the Honors in the Major (HITM) Program.
Her honors thesis centered around the role of diplomacy on the development of multinational space missions through a case study on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Zeron conducted fieldwork and interviews to support her thesis, which informed her on the practice of oral history. The interviews will serve as a contribution to the fields of international affairs, diplomacy, and the history of science.
“Being an international student, I have never felt more welcome and at home as I have felt in the Florida State University campus,” said Zeron. “Attending FSU feels like being at home, and I will forever be grateful to this university even after my time here has come to an end.”
She learned that extremely complex multinational science missions are enabled by people in high-leadership positions who encourage others to succeed in areas where they already excel.
“My most impactful experience at FSU was writing my honors thesis through the HITM program,” said Zeron. “It gave me the rare opportunity to fully immerse myself in a topic I’m deeply passionate about, with the freedom to ask bold questions and explore complex problems in the realm of space diplomacy. Through this experience, I met incredible mentors and peers who not only supported and inspired me but also helped to shape me into the researcher I am today.”
Zeron completed some of this work as a member of FSU’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy’s 2023-2024 Social Science Scholars cohort. The program provides career-accelerating leadership training and experiences to outstanding COSSPP undergraduate students with a major in the college who meet certain GPA requirements. The program was created in 2011 and consists of a leadership seminar course, completion of an internship or project, and a presentation of their takeaways from the program.
“The highlight of the Social Science Scholars program was the incredible support I received from both Dr. Mayo and Dr. Taylor, as well from my fellow scholars, who are some of the smartest people on our campus,” Zeron said.
In addition to being a Social Science Scholar, Zeron is also on the executive board of TEDxFSU, a Global Media Division intern with the Office of University Communications, and a member of the Community Ambassador Program. She also participated in the First Year Abroad Program and visited FSU’s study centers in London and Florence, which was the deciding factor in her decision to attend FSU.
After graduation, Zeron plans to move to Washington, D.C., for graduate school in the fall.
For more information about the International Affairs program, visit cosspp.fsu.edu/internationalaffairs. To learn more about Social Science Scholars, visit cosspp.fsu.edu/get-involved/social-science-scholars.