MAIR

Ryan Drysdale Gains First-Hand Info on US Foreign Policy Impacts in Chile

22 February, 2016

Ryan Drysdale spent his Summer and Fall Semesters in Santiago, Chile, improving his Spanish, interning at TechnoServe and taking courses through SU’s university partnerships. He is a MAIR student.

Chilean Diego Rivera, Maxwell MPA alumna Eliana Briceno, and Ryan Drysdale in front of the Chilean executive office called La Moneda

The Santiago Center through Syracuse University Study Abroad offers graduate students a unique opportunity to study at two of the best universities in Chile and South America while interning at a variety of organizations. During the Fall 2015 Semester, I was able to intern with the global NGO TechnoServe helping their Monitoring and Evaluation program track the progress of their initiatives working towards helping small entrepreneurs improve their business performance.

In addition to my internship, I took the two courses offered by the Santiago Center: 1) Environmental Policy in Chile and 2) Dictatorships, Human Rights, and Historical Memory in the Southern Cone. The highlight of the academic experience in Santiago was the latter course taught by historian and the center’s director, Professor Mauricio Paredes, a former member of the resistance against the Pinochet dictatorship who was detained and tortured.

Through declassified US government documents, visits to local museums and torture centers with Professor Paredes, and his engaging lectures, we gained a firsthand look at the impacts of US foreign policy and how those effects still linger today in Chile. The United States establishment in the 1970s during the Cold War, led by President Richard Nixon and National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger, feared the rise of democratically elected socialist President Salvador Allende in the US sphere of influence. According to declassified documents, during a National Security Council meeting in 1970, Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird stated: “We have to do everything we can to hurt Allende and bring him down.”

The US helped orchestrate a failed coup attempt against President Allende in 1970 and supported the successful coup against Allende in 1973 which brought General Augusto Pinochet to power. Seventeen years of military rule resulted in tens of thousands tortured and disappeared, over 400,000 forced into exile abroad, and the ushering in of neoliberal economic policies crafted by Milton Friedman which has led to Chile being one of the most unequal countries in the OECD today based on a Gini coefficient of 0.51 out of 1.0

Forty-five years after the US first started to meddle in Chile’s internal politics, the ramifications still exist. Our experience in Chile, however, coincided with a historical announcement by socialist President Michelle Bachelet to start a four year process to finally rewrite the current constitution implemented in 1980 under Pinochet’s brutal military rule. A major takeaway from the semester was seeing and hearing firsthand about the drastic impacts that foreign policy and geopolitical decisions can have for decades on a country and more importantly the people of that country.

Ryan Drysdale and Maxwell MAIR-ECON student Julianne Dunn on top of the Santa Lucia hill in the heart of Santiago, Chile

Ryan Drysdale is Repelling down a 75 foot cliff outside of Pucón, Chile — Repelling down a 75 foot cliff outside of Pucón, Chile

Chris Conrad, Interning with International Justice Mission–“Justice is Our Middle Name”

15 February, 2016

Chris Conrad recently completed his Master of Arts in International Relations (MAIR) degree. While completing coursework in Syracuse, he also worked on the Black Spots Project: Mapping Global Insecurity at the Maxwell School’s Moynihan Institute for Global Affairs.

Chris Conrad went sailing for the first time ever with his Contingency Ops team. Despite the cold and windy conditions, it was a day filled with fun and laughter

Several years ago, I read Gary Haugen’s The Locust Effect, which describes a plague of everyday violence against the poor. This violence keeps them in situations of poverty, while offenders – committing abuses such as human trafficking, forced labor, and violence against women and children – escape with impunity. To break the cycle of violence and poverty requires transforming dysfunctional justice systems, protecting vulnerable communities, and bringing criminals to justice for their crimes. This is the goal of International Justice Mission (IJM) through its operations around the world. IJM is partnering with governments, local communities and a network of supporters to “rescue thousands, protect millions, and prove that justice for the poor is possible”

Fast forward to my time at the Maxwell School, where I accepted an internship with IJM in Washington, D.C. for Fall 2015. The internship provided me an opportunity to combine my studies on security and transnational crime with advocacy for human rights and the justice movement. I worked closely with IJM’s Contingency Operations team, drafting safety and security policies, researching emerging global threats, compiling daily news briefings for senior leadership, and monitoring security events in IJM’s areas of operation.

My favorite part about working with IJM was the lively, encouraging atmosphere I encountered every day at work. The staff at IJM are some of the kindest and most encouraging people I’ve met, and they made the internship an affirming experience for all of us interns. Likewise, I grew close to the cohort of interns I worked with, who displayed a variety of knowledge and skills and a passion for justice.

Another highlight from the experience was attending IJM’s Advocacy Summit in support of the End Modern Slavery Initiative. Throughout the day, we met with U.S. Senators and Representatives from our home states, either thanking them for their support of the bill or asking them to be a co-sponsor.

The entire semester was an amazing time to learn and experience new things, and I feel confident as I take these next steps after graduation from the Maxwell School. Thank you for all of the support and encouragement along the way!

Attending a conference with Maxwell alum Kean Clifford, on the roof of D.C.s Newseum. — Attending a conference with Maxwell alum Kean Clifford, on the roof of DC’s Newseum.

Selfie with IJM’s CEO, Gary Haugen and other interns at IJM HQ. He delivered us delicious brownies made by his wife, Jan. — Selfie of IJM’s CEO, Gary Haugen, and other interns at IJM HQ. He delivered us delicious brownies made by his wife, Jan.

In front of the U.S. Capitol with other constituents from Michigan for IJM’s Advocacy Summit. We were on our way to meet with Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Gary Peters (D-MI) in support of the End Modern Slavery Initiative. (See http://news.ijm.org/early-christmas-gift-for-anti-slavery-efforts-as-congress-approves-25-million)

Learn more about the Maxwell-in-Washington program

Marc Barnett Tells us About Working with Transparency International

8 February, 2016

As part of the Atlantis Transatlantic Degree Program in International Security and Development Policy, Marc Barnett will graduate with dual degrees from two leading institutions. He will complete a Master of International Relations (MAIR) degree at the Maxwell School in Syracuse, and he will complete a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. Over the summer, he further interned at the Council of Europe.

Atlantis students Celina Menzel, Andrew Lyman, Tim Stoutzenberger, Rachel Penner, & Marc Barnett at the Berlin Festival of Lights

Corruption represents a pervasive issue for both the developing and developed world. It tends to undercut national security by providing safe havens for terrorist groups and organized crime as well as undermining human security through impunity and lack of accountability. Transparency International is headquartered in Berlin, Germany and one sector of this organization, the Secretariat, has fought against corruption since its inception in 1993.

Transparency International was founded by Peter Eigen who is a former World Bank employee. The Berlin-based Secretariat organizes and coordinates the fight against corruption working in conjunction with over 100 national chapters. Corruption issues have found their way to the top of many policymakers’ agendas in recent years, in no small part due to the work Transparency International has done. Due to support from PAIA, The Maxwell School, and Syracuse University I was given the opportunity to intern with Transparency International – Secretariat, which is nestled in the eclectic Berlin district of Moabit on the river Spree.

Working under the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) division, my duties mainly focused on the Western Balkans. This is an area in which I had prior expertise due to my research with the Global Black Spots Project, a joint initiative between the INSCT and Moynihan. I edited and synthesized various corruption reports from the region. Most notably I analyzed the National Integrity Systems (NIS) project, which contained seven accounts from national chapters in the region including Turkey. Some of my other responsibilities were substantial and sophisticated donor mapping analysis of South East Europe as well as working with members of the ECA team on grant proposals and concept notes to various organizations including the European Commission, Open Society Foundation, and bilateral donors in the region. Finally, I tested out important recommendations from the NIS reports in order to strategically plan for the next phase of the NIS project.

As someone interested in the developing nexus between corruption and national security, the experience proved to be invaluable. I was able to be a privileged observer to corruption experts in the field. Furthermore, building upon my experience this summer with the Council of Europe (Pompidou Group), I gained valuable insight into the inner workings of an international organization. As Transparency International develops a new strategic plan, conversations in the Berlin Secretariat resounded and resonated with my prior coursework from the Maxwell School, centering on impact, output, and strategic analysis.

I hope that future students will be able to follow in my footsteps and continue the arduous, yet rewarding work of Transparency International. Ultimately, fighting corruption remains more of an art than a science with no formula for success. Even scholars and experts often disagree on the most successful initiatives, but fixing political corruption proves to be the most important, yet possibly the most elusive.

IOM and ASP Allow Ngoc Hong Le to Explore Multiple Interests

5 February, 2016

Ngoc Hong Le is a recent graduate of Maxwell’s MAIR program. For her final two semesters, she participated in the Geneva Summer Practicum and the Maxwell-in-Washington Program.

Fall internship at ASP in Washington, DC

Ngoc Hong Le smiling in front of ASP's photo zone — Ngoc Hong Le smiling in front of ASP’s photo zone

After coming back from Europe with a wider knowledge of the migration and international relations fields, I decided to challenge myself to understand a new security field related to climate change: Climate Security. Personally, I am very concerned about the impact of climate change from manufacturing to human being’s daily lives. Climate security involves challenges from climate change to national security.

American Security Project (ASP) invited me to be a climate security intern in Fall 2015. ASP is a nonpartisan organization created to educate the American public and the world about the changing nature of national security in the 21^st Century in the U.S. ASP brings together prominent American business leaders, former members of Congress, retired military flag officers, and prominent former government officials to address climate security.

As a Climate security intern, my daily duties were providing news articles related to climate change policies adopted by countries around the world and in turn following the latest news about climate change in social media such as Twitter, Google+, and other news sources. In addition, my position involved posting blog post(s) on the ASP website related to climate security issues under ASP aspects and personal aspects, and attending conferences on the Hill and around Washington D.C that were related to climate change and climate security. In addition, as an intern in ASP, I assisted ASP staff to operate conferences related to security issues, such as cyber security. Moreover, interns rotated daily to contribute to “In Case You Missed” for ASP subscribers. This gave interns the opportunity to improve knowledge on many security subjects such as American competiveness, national security strategy, asymmetry operations, public diplomacy, climate security, energy security and nuclear security, in addition to their own focus.

While interning in ASP, I got to learn basic public relations skills associated with social media, and this was a valuable contribution to interning at ASP. Public relations and communications are a tools to promote your business, as well as to increase reader viewership. The internship taught me many new things that I did not know before and it was a great experience.

Summer internship at IOM in Geneva

Ngoc Hong Le is enjoying the beauty of La Rade Lake and the Jet d’eau Fountain Geneva after the first day of work — Ngoc Hong Le enjoying the beauty of La Rade Lake and the Jet d’eau Fountain in Geneva after the first day of work

IOM Headquarters located in Geneva, Switzerland gave me an opportunity to work with the Governing Bodies Division, Department of International Cooperation and Partnerships during summer 2015. IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. My department was responsible for supporting and coordinating organization relations with IOM Member States, inter-governmental organizations, civil society and the media.

I spent a whole summer at IOM assisting staff working on the Annual International Dialogue of Migration, named the Conference of Migrant and Cities from October 26 and 27, 2015 in Palais des Nation, Geneva, Switzerland. My internship duties included providing information about potential guest speakers for all five sections of the two-day conference, as well as responding to requests from attendants and guest speakers about visas, accommodations and travel arrangements. I also attended conferences in Palais des Nation related to migration issues in the world. I have learned a lot about how to organize an international conference with VIP level guests, which I did not have before. I was able to have a great learning experience in Geneva thanks to IOM.

In addition to my daily duties, I had the opportunity to attend weekly lunch meetings, featuring different departments in IOM with other interns. They taught me how an intern-government organization works with countries and international communities. I got to know more about how field work takes place in developing countries, and I wish to learn more about my international relations field because of this experience.

Even though I did not work on the conference with staff until the last day, my knowledge of migrants has expanded, and I’ve learned necessary conference operation skills from being so deeply involved in the “Migrant and Cities” conference. It was a unique experience that I could only gain from my master’s degree from the Maxwell School of Public Affairs and Citizenships.

Ngoc Hong Le traveling in Jungfrau mountain region — Ngoc Hong Le traveling in the Jungfrau mountain region

Hyeseul Hwang Does Cross Sectoral Work at IOM

18 January, 2016

Hyeseul Hwang wrote about her summer experience in Geneva last August. She has now graduated with an MAIR degree from the Maxwell School and a wealth of professional experience.

I arrived in Geneva at the end of the May to conduct my internship in International Organization for Migration (IOM) and to participate in the Geneva Summer Practicum. Since the start of my internship at IOM on June 1^st, it is hard to believe that today is my last day of the internship! Time really flies.

During this summer, I have worked in the department of International Cooperation and Partnerships in IOM for two and a half months. I worked at supporting my supervisor, a migration policy officer. I was mainly in charge of supporting and following up with an interagency research project about a crisis related migration stocktaking exercise which targets eighteen agencies over thirty‑nine countries from all over the region. Also, I conducted my own research and wrote papers about the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), Global Migration Group (GMG)), and UN HABITAT III.

The other interesting activities that I have done during my internship in IOM are participating in various events and sessions that are going on inside and outside of IOM. Day by day, there are many learning sessions and events within IOM regarding the current migration crisis, such as the Mediterranean and Syrian crises. Also, I have participated in many IOM intern events with professional talks from the field of emergency affairs, shelter assistance, and many other topics. In addition to that, participating in the ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment was an amazing opportunity for me to actually see how many UN organizations and other humanitarian affairs agencies such as ICRC are working for humanitarian affairs in more collaborative ways.

In addition to my internship, the Geneva Summer Practicum course provided valuable opportunities for me to gain more understanding about work within other international actors in Geneva via guest speakers from UNHCR, Permanent Mission, Center for Human Dialogue and others. Dr. Werner Schleiffer’s profound knowledge about the UN system and class debates truly nurtured my knowledge and sense of working in the field of humanitarian affairs. Moreover, class field trips to Bern, Luzern, Zermatt, Basel, and Zurich gave me a greater understanding about living in Switzerland. I am very happy that I have spent my amazing summer in Geneva through my internship, course with the Dr. Schleiffer and awesome classmates.

Nicole Gerke Reaches Closer to Her Dream at UNICEF

7 December, 2015

Nicole Gerke is a MAIR student in the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. She interned at UNICEF Headquarters in New York City during the summer of 2015.

My summer in UNICEF’s Headquarters

When I was around 9 years old, I decided to change my answer to the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?”. It was a big step for me, because it implied acknowledging that petting animals had fallen on my list of priorities. You see, in the beginning my answer was that I wanted to become a veterinarian. But something had changed in me, and I felt like I could no longer stand seeing poverty, racism, and injustice in my country, without doing anything about it.

The more I learned the more I realized that this was not only a problem in my country, it was a problem everywhere. But I also learned that there was a place full of people like me, who also wanted to help those in need around the world – it was called the United Nations. So my answer to the question changed; now I wanted to become “the president of the United Nations”.

More than 17 years later, the feelings 9-year-old me had have not changed. And although I would no longer say that I want to become precisely the “president of the United Nations”, my personal and career goals are still to work for the most vulnerable of the world.

Now you can tell why I cried of happiness when I got the news that I would be working for UNICEF Headquarters this summer.

In June, I started my internship with the Post-2015 Development Agenda Unit from UNICEF. During the time I was there I got to collaborate analyzing the various drafts of the Sustainable Development Goals outcome document, assisting in the generation of UNICEF’s responses to these drafts. I also got to collaborate closely with other Child‑Friendly Agencies (Save the Children, World Vision, SOS Children’s Villages, Plan, and Child Fund) in joint responses to the drafts of the SDG outcome document. The goal was to have a strong agenda for children, especially the most vulnerable. I also got the opportunity to cover the intergovernmental negotiations for the post-2015 development agenda, where I got to learn precisely how documents of global impact are generated. And finally, once the document was informally adopted, I collaborated in the analysis of the implications this document will have for children in the next 15 years.

Overall, the experience was absolutely enriching. From the process of analyzing drafts and writing responses from a UN perspective, to being able to witness the negotiations, and doing advocacy work for the benefit of children worldwide, it was a wonderful experience. I did not only gain in-depth knowledge about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the opportunities and challenges they bring, but I also learned about intergovernmental negotiations at the United Nations, and about UNICEF’s role in this process.

Now with my internship over and the post-2015 development agenda ready for official adoption this September, I am eager to continue to work for the implementation of the agenda. I feel lucky and incredibly privileged to have been a part of its preparation, and I am enormously thankful to the Maxwell School, the Global Programs Awards, and Fulbright for giving me the unique opportunity to work at UNICEF’s Headquarters this summer.

Nicole Gerke Standing at the UNICEF photo zone — Nicole Gerke at UNICEF

Students Work with Nepalese Communities in Earthquake Recovery

30 November, 2015

In case you missed it, Syracuse University News ran an article in early November featuring one of our PAIA students, Rachel Penner, who worked in disaster relief over the summer in Nepal. Rachel is a dual degree MAIR/Atlantis* student.

Read the original article>>

Excerpt:

Working with Aythos

Kam and Rachel Penner, a graduate student in the international relations program in the Maxwell School, both connected with the U.S.-based organization Aythos. The NGO was co-founded by Maxwell School alumnus Beau Miller G’10, who is Aythos’ president and executive director, and has worked in Nepal for six years.

Penner, who is interested in disaster response and development, was also drawn to the work Aythos was doing.

“Since Aythos was focused on development through their agricultural work before the earthquake, I knew that they would have a unique perspective on how to respond to a crisis with an eye toward long-term efforts,” Penner says.

Nepal-relief.Rachel.Penner.2final — Rachel Penner displays a water distribution tank that allowed the biosand-filtered water to be distributed to different housing clusters in a Nepalese village. Penner designed the tank to ensure the structural integrity of the main, 2,000-liter storage tank.

Nepal-relief.Rachel.Penner.final — Rachel Penner, fourth from right, stands with other volunteers near a mission transport plane.

Read the original article>>

*The Atlantis Transatlantic Degree Program allows students to study at U.S. and European institutions while earning a MAIR or MPA from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and a MPP from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, Germany.

Brittany Renner Experiences an Eye-Opening Moment Working for Migrant Rights

16 November, 2015

Brittany Renner is currently interning and studying in Washington, DC as part of the Maxwell-in-Washington program. She is a MAIR student in the Public Administration and International Affairs Department at the Maxwell School.

This Summer I completed the Geneva Practicum in Geneva, Switzerland. Even though I knew I wanted to do this program before I got into the Maxwell School, I learned so much more than I could have ever expected in the three months that I was there.

I received an internship position in the Director General’s Office of the International Organization for Migration under the supervision of the Senior Regional Advisor for Sub‑Saharan Africa. I spent my weeks at the IOM doing substantial work, including conducting independent research, attending United Nations conferences, and meeting with country ambassadors. My independent research focused on analyzing African visa policies and their economic and social impacts on African migrants and potential investors. It was eye-opening to work for migrants’ rights, and it was an opportunity to learn more about my region of focus. I even had the chance to present my research at an internal IOM staff meeting for constructive criticism before it was presented at the annual Intra-Regional Consultations on Migration and Labour Mobility within Africa meeting in Accra, Ghana. My internship was a crucial experience for me and my future career path in international development.

In the class component of the Practicum, I learned so much about not only the United Nations system, but also about the life of an international worker and what goes into choosing a career path in foreign service. Our group had class twice a week and during that time we had numerous presentations and meetings with officials from organizations such as UNICEF, UNHCR, Humanitarian Dialogue, and World Economic Forum. We also had the opportunity to learn about the history of Switzerland and how Geneva became a hub of international diplomacy.

We toured around the country learning about other important cities like Bern, Zurich, and Lucerne and were lucky enough to travel to Zermatt and experience an amazing up-close view with the famous Alps. Of course, on weekends we also were able to travel to other neighboring European countries like France, Italy and Germany. I would highly recommend this experience to anyone who is serious about potentially working in international relations organizations, especially the United Nations. It is truly a unique program with history, culture and professional experience waiting for you.

Caitlin Hoover, Brittany Renner, Hyeseul Hwang, and Program Director Dr. Werner Schleiffer(From left to right) — From left: Caitlin Hoover, Brittany Renner, Hyeseul Hwang, and Program Director Dr. Werner Schleiffer

Tulia Gattone, Working on the Mine Ban Convention in Geneva

19 October, 2015

Tulia Gattone is a MAIR student in the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

This summer, myself and ten other Maxwell students moved to Switzerland for the Geneva Summer Practicum. It has been an incredible life-changing experience. I will definitely recommend this Global Program to any future generation of students.

As part of the Practicum, I interned at the Implementation Support Unit (ISU) of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. The ISU is the Secretariat to the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. The Unit is mandated to provide support and advice to the State Parties to the Convention. It also communicates and provides information about the Convention status, keeps records of formal and informal meeting and liaises with other international organizations.

Working with the ISU is a truly enriching opportunity. I had the pleasure and honor to meet an incredible amount of representatives of State parties, international organizations and NGOs. Also, I attended international conferences on disarmament and carried out research in the field of mine action.

In addition to the internship, the Practicum comprises a series of lectures taught by Professor Schleiffer, whose experience and knowledge is truly inspiring. The class is highly debate-based and is constantly enriched by presentations of speakers of the highest caliber. This year we even had a lecture at the Geneva Town Hall in the world famous Alabama room where in 1872 an arbitration tribunal posed with a peaceful agreement an end to a conflict between the United States of America and Great Britain.

Work and school apart, Geneva is incredibly beautiful and it is a city that has so much to offer. I was sincerely amazed by the story, the culture and the high sense of respect of the Swiss people. In addition to the cheese and chocolate of the finest quality, Switzerland’s welcoming attitude will make leaving hard for everyone.

For more information about the ISU, check the following links:

www.apminebanconvention.org/

http://www.apminebanconvention.org/implementation-support- unit/overview/

Tulia Gattone in Gornergrat (3,100 m), Switzerland

Emily Fredenberg Assists UNDP with Health & Development

28 September, 2015

The following entry was drafted by Emily Fredenberg, a dual-degree MPA & MAIR student.

Emily Fredenberg – UNDP Health and Development Unit

This summer, I had the opportunity to intern with the United Nations Development Programme, within their Health and Development Unit in Geneva, Switzerland. As an intern, my work was divided between the unit’s focal point on non-communicable diseases, tobacco control, and the social and economic detriments of health, and a team specialist on UNDP’s partnership with the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

Much of the work UNDP performs in-country specializes in government capacity building. At the headquarters level, the unit’s partnership team with the Global Fund serves an advisory function in that it provides technical support to UNDP country teams executing Global Fund grants. At country level, UNDP is selected as a principal grant recipient by the Global Fund in instances when a country does not have the capability to implement the grant themselves. As principal grant recipient, UNDP works simultaneously to implement a grant, as well as to build a country’s capacity to carry out Global Fund grants themselves. Currently, UNDP is principal recipient to Global Fund grants in 26 countries.

The UNDP Health and Development Unit in Geneva also specializes in non-communicable disease (NCD) policy. Much of this policy involves joint-programming initiatives with a number of other UN agencies and programmes, most prominently, the World Health Organization (WHO). UNDP and WHO are currently pursuing a joint NCD Governance Programme initiative. This programme is designed to enhance government capacity across government sectors by looking at NCDs more broadly, not only within the health sector. Such sectors include ministries of education, finance, agriculture, trade, and tourism with the ultimate goal of various ministries within a government working collaboratively to address the growing problem of NCDs. The Geneva team also works closely with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in assisting countries to successfully implement and execute the framework.

Throughout the summer, my work was quite varied within the unit. I had the opportunity to attend the World Health Assembly, as well as several other thematic units at various UN agencies pertaining to health in development. I conducted targeted research with NCDs in capital infrastructure projects, examining ways large capital projects can affect the incidence of NCDs as well as solutions to mitigating the side-effects of such projects. I played an integral role in planning a South-South Triangular seminar with the FCTC, where countries in need of technical assistance implementing the FCTC framework could receive expertise from other countries willing and able to provide such. Additionally, two evenings a week I attended a class, as part of Maxwell’s Geneva Summer Practicum. During class, we often had presentations from various guest speakers of UN agencies, government missions, as well as NGOs.

My internship with UNDP certainly allowed me to get a fuller understanding of the intricacies of the UN system, and to develop my research, writing, and strategic planning skills. All in all, I had an amazing summer with the United Nations in Geneva. Geneva truly is a great city to spend the summer in, and I’m quite grateful for the experience I was able to have there.