Kyra Murphy is a joint MPA/MAIR student who worked as a graduate policy fellow with the National Security Network (NSN) in Washington, DC during the Summer 2015 semester . She was also Head Intern at the National Security Studies Program at the Maxwell School under with Col. Bill Smullen (Ret.) and Executive Director Sue Virgil during the Fall semester 2015.
Originally, I had planned to be in New York City for the Fall 2015 Semester of my 2nd year working toward the MPA/MAIR Degrees. My internship with the U.S. Department of State at the permanent mission to the United Nations was confirmed and I could not have been more excited! Then, things changed. Unfortunate circumstances and wonderful new opportunities resulted in my decision to forget NYC and come back to Syracuse for the Fall Semester. My decision was primarily influenced by the announcement that I had been awarded a national Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship for South Asian studies. This opportunity meant that I would have the chance to begin studying new languages, both Hindi and Urdu, as well as return to my former graduate fellowship position working at the National Security Studies program with Col. Bill Smullen (Ret.) and Executive Director Sue Virgil.
To my surprise, my decision ended up being one without any regrets. Even though the chance to work at the U.S. Mission to the UN would have been an unbelievable opportunity, I truly believe that I made the right choice. Now, I have the opportunity to expand my language skills even further, and have applied for a Boren Fellowship to spend the next year in India researching nuclear policy. I am even more marketable for when I begin my job search, as I have two additional critical languages to add to my former experience in Turkish. Finally, I am working as the Brady K. Fellow for the National Security Studies program and have been able to acquire skills in administration, logistics, strategy, and overall organization management.
The U.S. State Department will always have internship opportunities, but incredible fellowships don’t come around very often. I am thankful that I had wonderful mentors and advisors at the Maxwell School to help me make the right decision.
For the third year in a row, the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs received top honors for “Outstanding Delegation” at the annual Model UN Conference in New York City. The team, composed of 20 undergraduate students, won the top prize for its research and portrayal of the island nation of New Zealand, the country assigned by conference officials[. . .]
[. . .]Kyra Murphy, a graduate student in public administration and international affairs and graduate assistant for the delegation, credits Model UN with rounding out her degrees. “Today, as I get ready to graduate from Maxwell, I can confidently attribute my oral presentation and public speaking skills, my knowledge in diplomacy and international etiquette, and my comfort in new situations to the time that I have spent with Model UN.”
Over the course of Spring break, Maxwell students had the great opportunity to visit various sites and attend coffee chats with alumni. They connected with people who worked at various organizations in Washington, DC and New York and learned a lot about opportunities in different fields. There is no doubt that this unique opportunity helped Maxwell students to consolidate their careers.
Maxwell alumnus David Bauer ’49 and the students he hosted on Roosevelt Island
Excerpt:
Over the course of our spring break, approximately 60 members of our cohort traveled to Washington, D.C. and New York City to network and connect with Maxwell alumni who work in various professions in the public, private, and nonprofit fields.
The busy week’s networking festivities kicked off at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), an internationally-focused think tank in D.C. that the Maxwell School has a unique partnership with. Throughout the D.C. leg of the trip, current students had the opportunity to attend site visits and coffee chats with a variety of organizations that had a Maxwell connection. The Office of Personnel Management, the Brookings Institute, the Congressional Budget Office, the Department of Energy, the World Bank, and Booz Allen Hamilton are a just few names of the many site visits our cohort attended. A group of MPA students attended the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank that considers the needs of low-income and disadvantaged individuals and families. The most valuable trip for me was visiting the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, given its relevance to my interests in higher education and labor. After this visit, I was able to connect with a 2010 alumnus about a graduate summer fellowship opportunity starting in July. He even offered to connect me with the Fellow Coordinator and offered a recommendation.[…]
Students at the D.C. Public Schools site visitMAIR students outside the Brookings Institution (Claudine Lim, Phoung Ha and Vahid Khatami from left to right)MPA/MAIR student Vahid Khatami (right) connecting with Maxwell staff Isaac Olson (center) and Dr. Ryan Williams (left)
Emily Fredenberg is a dual-degree MPA & MAIR student. She interned with the United Nations Development Programme, within their Health and Development Unit in Geneva, Switzerland during the summer. She came back to Syracuse to continue her studies after finishing her internship with the United Nations Network for Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Secretariat.
Emily Fredenberg (left) with fellow intern at the WFP Headquarters in Rome, Italy
This autumn, I had the opportunity to intern with the United Nations Network for Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Secretariat, hosted by the headquarters of the UN World Food Programme in Rome, Italy. As an intern, my function was to support the global-level work of the UN Network for SUN Secretariat, in its coordination and facilitation functions amongst the main UN agencies principally working on nutrition.
Overview of the Roles of the SUN Movement, the UN Network for SUN, & REACH within the Global Nutrition Landscape:The Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement is a global initiative, aiming to spur political action and investment among both national government leaders as well as development partners, to improve maternal and child nutrition. SUN focuses on investing targeted action for the first 1,000 days between a woman’s pregnancy and her child’s second birthday. Poor nutrition during this period can result in irreversible consequences for a child, such as stunted growth or impaired cognitive development. Therefore this short window of time can have life-changing impacts on a child’s health throughout the entire life-cycle as well as their ability to break the cycle of poverty for their families and communities.
SUN is a country-led movement (currently present in 55 participating countries), bringing various stakeholders together, across the different SUN Networks which include government, civil society, UN, and the private sector, to support national efforts to scale up nutrition. This multi-stakeholder approach fosters greater coordination and access to technical and financial resources which are necessary to galvanize nutrition action. The SUN Movement focuses on encouraging the implementation of key nutrition-interventions (such as the promotion of breast-feeding), as well as the integration of nutrition into the broader policy efforts of relevant government sectors such as health, agriculture, education, social protection, sanitation, and women’s empowerment.
At the national level, there is frequently a lack of coordination and capacity to develop a multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder approach. Hence, nutrition activities can remain fragmented and uncoordinated, and result in duplicative efforts with limited impact. In order to facilitate coordination, the work of the SUN Movement is synchronized amongst the various SUN Networks, including the work of the UN Network for SUN. The UN Network was endorsed in June 2013 by five UN Agencies principally working in nutrition related issues (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO). The Network serves to: harmonize and coordinate UN activities in support of country nutrition efforts, and to align UN nutrition efforts with those of national governments, other SUN Networks and nutrition stakeholders at global and country levels.
Renewed Efforts Against Child Hunger and Undernutrition (REACH) is an essential component of the UN Network for SUN, and provides participating governments with impartial coordinateon and analytical support to simplify administrative mechanisms. It further allows UN Network agencies to focus their efforts on the technical aspects of nutrition. REACH’s neutral facilitation takes the shape of a national and international nutrition facilitator, which work directly with the national government to foster greater country-led stakeholder engagement, with the aim of progressing the level of national commitment for nutrition efforts. Currently, REACH facilitation is present within 17 SUN countries.
UN Network for SUN/REACH Secretariat Internship Roles: As the UN Network for SUN Secretariat works to coordinate the efforts amongst the participating UN agencies, the Secretariat also facilitated an interagency workshop on the UN’s approach to Capacity Development Assessments the first week of November. Currently, most UN Network agencies conduct their own assessments, and this workshop was designed to harmonize these assessments as a collaborative UN Network for SUN approach to capacity building efforts.
As my principal internship project, I worked to facilitate a colleague from FAO to firstly conduct a pre-workshop analysis, by 1) mapping the existing UN assessment tools, 2) drafting a capacity development framework based upon the various UN assessment methodologies, and 3) conducting a country case study analysis of previous assessments conducted to get a better sense of how these assessments could be improved to better leverage country level capacity. Through workshop discussions, we were able to finalize the draft framework, and also agreed to create a harmonized guidance package for countries interested in conducting assessments. I additionally assisted in this development process, though the final guidance package will not be complete until this coming spring 2016.
Overall, my internship with the UN Network for SUN Secretariat certainly allowed me to get a fuller understanding of the intricacies of the UN system, particularly with regards to inter-UN agency collaboration efforts specific to nutrition. It also helped to further develop my research, writing, and strategic planning skills. All in all, I had an amazing semester with the Secretariat in Rome. Rome truly is a great city, and I’m quite grateful for the experience I was able to have there.
Suhyeon Lee is a MAIR student who does a great deal to maintain this blog. She decided to try her hand at drafting an article about the course, UN Organizations-Managing for Change taught by Professor Catherine Bertini. This is an intensive one-week course taught in New York City with multiple visits to United Nations Headquarters.
This UN course was an opportunity for my classmates and I to obtain valuable learning by seeing much and studying much. This course was not just a normal class, but a special one in that it consisted of a variety of activities including lectures, speeches, a UN trip, and networking, all of which is not easily combined. If there is anyone who is looking for courses during the Winter Session, I would definitely recommend this one for you.
As we walked into the classroom on the first day, we were delighted to see that it was a big class setting where we each could work on our own personal computer. As Prof. Bertini began to go over class procedures, we were excited to learn about United Nations’ organizations in upcoming classes, which made the room filled with passion and excitement.
For five days, we learned the operations and processes for change in several United Nations’ organizations mainly focusing on the Security Council, UN Secretariat, and World Food Programme. This course began with a brief summary of each organization, including their purposes, funding systems, and governance structures, intertwined with speeches of guest speakers who have vast experience in their field. In addition, we had an opportunity to learn culture and representational issues of the United Nations organizations where efforts at future improvement must be made.
One of the great advantages of taking the UN course was listening to the speeches of guest speakers. On the second day of the UN course, my classmates and I had the honor to have the Former Executive Director of UNICEF, Carol Bellamy, as a speaker. She talked about leadership strategy–one important skill that MAIR students have to be equipped with–and her achievements at UNICEF. It was a thrilling and memorable moment, and we felt so blessed to learn a lot from her.
Former Executive Director of UNICEF, Carol Bellamy, and Prof. Bertini giving a speech in the Fisher Center in New York City. It was an overwhelming moment for all students who took the UN course.
For the last two days, we went on a trip to the UN to get an idea of how the UN works and met prominent people who were working to make the world a better place. On the first day of the UN trip, we headed to the Public Chamber under the supervision of a security guard to learn operations and the processes of the Security Council. When we arrived at the public chamber, the representatives of Congo were on the screen and the members of the Security Council, ambassadors, and a few people were seated. The president of the Security Council was in the center, and the discussion started with his remarks. Looking at this scene made being at the UN even more real.
During the afternoon, the Director of the Secretary General visited the conference room where we stayed. We learned the operations and processes of the Security Council in more detail and representational issues of the Security Council such as the number of permanent members and non-permanent members.
The most impressive part of the second UN visit was meeting with Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Jan Eliasson. He put emphasis on a few ideas while speaking. First, he valued human rights. He said that we should not forget human rights and that human rights violations are a sign of danger. When he said these words, we strongly agreed with his ideas, and we were pleased with the fact that the world has Jan Eliasson as the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Second, he talked about diversity. He said that the world together is the most important thing. There are a lot of criticism in regards to migrants and refugees, especially now days when terrorism by ISIS threatens the world. However, we had a lesson from him that we should not forget that each country is one part of the world.
This course helped students prepare for working at international organizations by attending a lecture of operations and processes of the United Nations organization. This was a positive experience where we gained valuable information and skills. I am grateful for taking this course and all I learned from it. I will definitely be able to implement the information and skills I learned in this class in the future.
Prof. Bertini and the UN course
The UN course was taught by Prof. Catherine Bertini. She is currently a Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University, and was the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Program from 1992 to 2002. All courses she teaches are drawn by the vast experience she gained during a career spanning public service at international, national, state, and local levels, and private sector and foundation experience. The UN course is one of a number of courses that she teaches. This course originally was held at Syracuse University, but with the help of a few people including Prof. Bertini and Syracuse University, the location was moved from Syracuse to New York City two years ago.
Maxwell students of Syracuse University and Prof. Bertini (center, blue jacket & UN badge) in front of the mural in the Public Chamber, UN Headquarters, New York City. Suhyeon Lee far right.
Beth Gawne is enjoying her life in Washington D.C.
Beth Gawne spent three years teaching English in rural Japan before coming to the Maxwell School. She is a joint MPA/MAIR student who will finish with two degrees. She interned at the United States Department of State in Washington, DC and is a regular contributor to the PAIA Insider blog.
“And they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.” –Isaiah 2:4
This is a quote I saw often in a hallway of the Harry S Truman building of the State Department while I spent my Fall Semester learning about nonproliferation efforts in the US. This quote was written as a mural on the wall of the floor I worked on, and across from it was an image of a mushroom cloud from the first successful nuclear test of the Manhattan Project. It gave me inspiration and motivation as I worked in the front office of the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN), sitting in on meetings with high-level diplomats and representatives from the government, taking notes, and organizing briefing documents for the Assistant Secretary.
My time in the State Department provided me a 30,000-ft view of what the US does to prevent nuclear, biological, and chemical materials from being used as weapons, and instead to focus those efforts on peaceful means. I learned that these efforts range from formal treaties and conventions, to interdiction and export control, to even helping scientists overseas to prevent accidents or theft of dangerous materials. Even more, I learned about the slow moving machine that is the bureaucracy meant to ensure that these efforts are consistent and properly coordinated. I realized that without this, our government would spend its time responding to the latest crisis and be unable to do anything else long-term.
My job itself had me working alongside other staff assistants to make sure the leadership of the bureau was prepared for meetings and events. I got to see what makes a strong leader within the government, and I had the opportunity to work with some of the most engaging, kind, and supportive people I have ever met. I even was given a chance to do a few projects in other offices, helping with detailed data collection that was going to be used to impact a real problem on the ground. Knowing I was involved in something that would make a difference was probably one of the best parts of the internship overall. I wasn’t making copies and running to Starbucks; I was helping to communicate an argument for NATO or inform bureau officers of a country’s stance on an issue.
I was most impressed with the quality of the leadership within the bureau, and for people who have such important and high-level jobs, everyone was down-to-earth and welcoming. I’m excited to see what my future holds, and hopefully my path will cross with ISN once again— even if I’m not directly working there.
Ms. Jane Yoona Chung is a dual MPA/MAIR student in the Department of Public Administration and International Affairs. She will be completing her dual degree program in Summer 2016.
During Summer 2015, I completed my internship at the US Korean Institute (USKI) at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) as Johns Hopkins University. As a program and research intern for USKI, I was responsible for several tasks, one being attending events on behalf of the research institute. This gave me the opportunity to be exposed to and meet experts from the larger East Asia foreign policy community in Washington D.C. Examples of institutes included the The Asan Institute for Policy Studies, Korea Economic Institute (KEI), Sejong Society of Washington D.C., the Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Once or twice a week, I attended workshops and/or talks all over the D.C. area. One workshop that stood out to me was a simulation on post-reunification of the Korean Peninsula. Attendees were divided into groups comprised of experts, students, and visiting North Korean scholars. This workshop was an especially humbling experience as I was able to hear from the North Korean perspective on reunification first hand. Moreover, meeting the North Korean students was a fascinating encounter, one that I will never forget. Other talks and conferences I attended discussed the Russian role in East Asia, the tense relations between South Korea and Japan, and the North Korean nuclear program. Learning and hearing from experts, political officials, and academics was very rewarding as it refined and expanded my knowledge and curiosity in East Asian foreign policy.
In addition to the talks and conferences, USKI hosted its first student exchange program with Ajou University in South Korea. This exchange program brought 30 college students, from a variety of majors, to spend a month in Washington D.C. to learn about American politics, history, and culture. I was both a discussion leader that led class in the afternoon and a “guide” for afternoon site visits around Washington D.C. This gave me the opportunity to visit organizations all over the city and to attend a Washington Nationals baseball game for free!
As part of my internship, I was also responsible for conducting independent research on a current topic related to the Korean Peninsula. I presented my research to the Staff on the implications of a land bridge that would connect the Russian Far East and North Korea. With this project, I communicated with experts and had access to a plethora of resources from USKI and Johns Hopkins University (a perk of working with a university). To be able to complete this research project on top of the other responsibilities taught me how to juggle multiple responsibilities with finesse.
At the same time of my internship, I also took courses through the Maxwell-in-Washington program at CSIS. While it was a bit tiring to take courses in the evening right after a full day at my internship, I would still recommend taking a course. These courses are taught my experts in the field and are conducted as a seminar rather than a lecture.
Being in Washington D.C. was an eye-opening experience as it challenged me personally and professionally. During my internship and stay, I learned about the culture of think tanks, the hustle and bustle of the nation’s capital, and the immense beauty of the nation’s history. Although I worked full-time, Washington D.C. makes it easy to still have a social life after hours and on weekends. Friday evenings were spent enjoying a glass of sangria at Jazz at the Garden or getting a nice warm bowl of duck noodles in Chinatown. Weekends were spent traveling throughout the city on the $1 DC Circulator, free museums, free movie screenings, or hiking through Rock Creek Park. Balancing between professional and personal aspects of my experience was a challenge, but all in all, I would describe my internship experience in Washington D.C. to be humbling and rewarding.
Jane Chung (far right) with colleagues at US Korean Institute
Kara Coughlin is a joint MPA/MAIR student who interned at the IOM in Geneva, Switzerland during her summer semester and in Pretoria, South Africa during her fall semester.
This summer I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to intern for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in their headquarters office in Geneva, Switzerland. I worked within the IOM Development Fund (IDF) on project development, monitoring, and evaluation. The goal of IDF is to provide “seed” money to governments in developing countries for projects that build capacity to better manage migration in the future. These projects focus on developing policy frameworks, training government officials, building infrastructure, raising awareness, and developing guidelines and manuals to better protect migrants and enhance governments’ ability to manage migration in a humane and orderly manner.
Working with the IDF team was an incredible learning experience for me. IDF projects cover a wide variety of migration thematic areas and are implemented in IOM country offices all over the world. As a result, I was able to learn about key migration issues in each region of the world and be in constant contact with IOM staff members from all different country offices. My role was to assist country offices in developing project proposals, as well as edit and review interim reports, final reports, and extension requests. Through these tasks I was able to gain a deeper understanding of how projects are monitored and evaluated, and the importance of designing projects with well thought out indicators.
In addition to reviewing reports, I conducted a review of completed IDF projects that focused on the prevention of human trafficking. The goal of this review was to evaluate methods used for project development and implementation to better inform IDF on how counter-trafficking related projects can be more sustainable. Sustainability is a key factor for IDF and refers to how well governments and relevant stakeholders maintain project outcomes once the IDF funding period is completed. To assess sustainability, I developed a survey that was sent to each country office that implemented one of the 18 counter-trafficking projects being reviewed. I analyzed the data from the surveys and wrote an in-depth report outlining the project characteristics that led to the greatest level of outcome sustainability, as well as the main challenges that these projects faced in maintaining outcomes. Through this project I was able to develop a better understanding of project evaluation and obtain valuable insight into the strengths and weaknesses of methods used to prevent human trafficking.
Interning at the IOM in Geneva gave me the opportunity to use the skills I learned from my courses at Maxwell and gain indispensible knowledge regarding the phases of project development. Through this experience, I was able to seek out another internship opportunity with IOM for the fall semester and am currently in Pretoria, South Africa interning at the IOM Regional Office for Southern Africa. I am very grateful for Global Programs Award for supporting me in these endeavors. These experiences have been pivotal to my educational goals and have given me the practical skills needed to be successful when entering the workforce.
Kara Coughlin stands in front of the Nelson Mandela statue in South AfricaKara Coughlin above Lake Geneva
As a joint MPA/MAIR student, Caitlin Hoover is now working on her MPA degree in Syracuse.
I never felt as much excitement in my life as the moment I was informed that the United Nations had selected me for an internship in Geneva, Switzerland. I was not quite sure what to expect in the coming months when I stepped foot on the plane to Europe and felt a surge of excitement knowing that I was about to dive into my calling in life- humanitarian work. The combination of both a 40 hour work week at an unpaid internship and taking night classes seemed like a slippery slope to feeling burnt out. However, I found that the combination of my hands-on internship work during the day and learning about international organizations and their functions in the evening, was exactly what I needed to succeed in Geneva. It was wonderful to challenge my brain to learn new material in the evenings while being surrounded by other students like myself who were embarking on similar journeys for their futures. My classmates and professor quickly evolved into a support network for adjusting to life in Geneva and understanding how international organizations operate in a real world context.
While interning at the United Nations Headquarters for the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs within the Humanitarian Leadership Strengthening Unit, I discovered that HQ‑level work was not for me- and that’s okay! Instead I found my passion for working in field based operations within a security and humanitarian framework. I never would have discovered this so early on in my career if it had not been for the opportunity to network with professionals throughout a variety of United Nations positions. Even though I realized my passion does not lie within the particular unit I interned with, as the unit worked to train and support high level United Nations officials rather than directly involve itself in humanitarian operations, I was able to grow and evolve as an individual and learn a variety of skills which are crucial to my future career.
Having successfully completed an internship with the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, I now feel confident in my ability to operate effectively within a major international organization and have a firm understanding of the direction my career path will take upon graduating. I cannot express enough how grateful I am to have been given the opportunity to study abroad in Switzerland while pursuing a full-time internship in the heart of my dream career field.
Beth Gawne is a MPA/MAIR student, and a regular contributor to PAIA Insider.
I’ve been thinking about bureaucracy a lot lately, especially as I hit my 4th week in the Department of State. This past summer, the MPA students took “Public Administration and Democracy,” where we learned that basically bureaucracy exists to get things done. Sure, there’s the glitz and glamor of policy and politics, but when it gets down to it, bureaucracy lies at the heart of a functioning society. Of course, back then my impression of what that meant was in terms of making sure the lights come on and the buses run (sometimes even on time). However, I never realized how that related to foreign affairs until now.
Not even tanks can escape the bureaucracy of the toll booth operator!
Bureaucracy helps make US embassies safe. Bureaucracy uphold US diplomatic relationships with other nations. Bureaucracy keeps nasty weapons out of the wrong hands. Heck… bureaucracies even help us MAIR interns get to our internships when we fly! When it comes to State Department bureaucracy, there’s a lot of waiting around for clearances, for badges, and even for access to a computer. You have to check a document that 10 other people have checked, then forward it on for 5 more people to check over. I used to think this was over-kill, but then when I considered what might happen without these checks… well, those things that I mentioned in the first few sentences might not be the case anymore. International security and foreign relations might be compromised without these basic steps that so annoy all of us.
Whether it’s diplomacy, humanitarian aid, international organizations, trade, or nonproliferation, bureaucracy makes sure that policies can be put into place. It helps the right people get the right resources in order to make sure everyone can do their job. Without it, we’d just have a bunch of words and nothing being done. All of the things that people want to actually do in the world wouldn’t be able to happen if bureaucrats weren’t rolling up their sleeves and typing up some memos to an embassy. It’s just amazed me how many of the officers in DOS rely on this kind of bureaucracy to make sure things happen. International relations isn’t just a set of theories and abstract concepts about security or development work…. instead it’s filled with real people doing real work to make the world a better place. And the rules that govern them help keep it all relatively in order despite everything that’s working against it.
If it’s one last thing I’ve learned in the State Department– besides lots of foreign affairs– it’s that MAIR students learn just as much about bureaucracy as MPA students. We may not have the requirement to take the specific class on it (although thanks to Maxwell we’re still 100% able to take the class), but we sure as heck learn about it during our time here anyway. The internship has been an incredible way to take all of the big concepts we learned in the classroom in Syracuse and apply it directly to what we want to be doing in the first place. This is even more important when you consider how hard it is to get your foot in the door in some of these places.
Also, it wouldn’t be complete without acknowledging the mad writing skills that Maxwell has helped me gain– I’ve gotten so many compliments on my memos!
To find out about how Beth Gawne’s experiences at the State Department began, read her other article: Intern by day, student by night.
Beth Gawne waves to her fellow Maxwell students from the United States Department of State in Washington, DC.
