More student staff — the second years

When Roxana hires student staffers, she tries to bring in first-year students who may stay with us for two years.  We have three second-year students on the staff this year.  Today, we hear from two of them, and the third will have something to say next week.

First, Jessie:

Hello Fletcher prospectives! I’m a second-year student in the MALD program.  I have a strong interest in issues involving terrorism and WMD, which stems from the two years I spent working in the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, prior to coming to Fletcher. I am taking courses in Security Studies and Southwest Asia/Islamic civilization, which I hope someday to parlay into a job in the U.S. government or a think tank focusing on security policy.

Jessie was an active volunteer for us last year, but this is her first year on the student staff.

And Kristin:

Hello!  This is my second year working in the Admissions Office, and I love it!  I’m one of three second years in the office, but I’m the only one who still lives in Blakeley Hall, the on-campus housing for Fletcher students.   I work here in the office taking phone calls, responding to emails, and answering any questions that prospective students may have.

Before coming to Fletcher I was studying International Business and African Studies at Howard University in Washington, DC.  After about a semester at Howard, I decided that the private sector probably wasn’t going to be my career field of choice, but I still wanted to develop business skills and then apply them to the public sector.  I pursued a number of U.S. Government internships:  I interned for the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, and Department of State, ultimately deciding that I wanted to have a career in the Foreign Service.  So, I applied for and was fortunate to receive the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship, supporting graduate study for students interested in pursuing a U.S. Foreign Service career.

Like all other MALD students, I’ve chosen two Fields of Studies.  Already having a background in business, I decided to pursue fields in which I had no experience but would be useful for my future career.  I’m concentrating in International Security Studies, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, along with a self-designed field in Religion and Politics.   I’m still working on developing a thesis topic, but with the deadline for my thesis proposal approaching, I plan to write on the role of religion in both conflict and peacebuilding.

With that in mind, I spent the summer working in the Economic Section at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam.   While at the Embassy I worked specifically on trade, serving as one of the leads on the Deputy U.S. Trade Representative’s visit to Vietnam, and also studied Vietnam’s agricultural trade and its rapid economic development.  It was a wonderful experience, and has proven to be very enlightening as I study Development Economics with Professor Steven Block.

I’ve had a great experience at Fletcher thus far and look forward to speaking with all of you who are interested in applying!