Get to know the Fletcher community
In December, the Fletcher Student Council launched a new fun initiative to introduce members of the community to each other. Called “Fletcher Features: Get to Know Your Community,” the monthly-ish Q&A was shared by email and, as soon as it hit my inbox, I reached out to ask if I could borrow it for the blog. Fortunately, all involved said yes, and I’ll be sharing these posts when I receive them. I especially like them because the featured community members include students, faculty and staff alike. I also like all the shout-outs for moms!
Robert (first-year MIB)
What are you studying at Fletcher?
I’m concentrating on International Finance & Banking and International Political Economy. I’m also involved in the International Business Club, Finance Club, and FSIG.
What did you do before Fletcher?
I worked in client service for an investment management firm in Boston.
Where are you from?
Grew up in Medfield, MA. Went to school at Northeastern University in Boston.
What is your favorite, most unique place you have ever been or traveled to?
I’ll give you a few: Barcelona, Spain. Howth, Ireland. Brasilito, Costa Rica.
Who are your favorite writers?
Hunter S. Thompson, Malcolm Gladwell and Zach Lowe.
Who has been the greatest inspiration in your life?
My mom.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Right now. Challenging myself to go to grad school (when I never thought I would).
Which living person do you most admire?
Warren Buffett.
What has been a challenge you have faced during your career or time at Fletcher?
Tough question. I haven’t been here that long. Maybe Professor Jacque’s class — that’s challenging.
What has been your favorite moment at Fletcher so far?
Africana Night.
Naoko (second-year MIB)
What are you studying at Fletcher?
I’m a second-year MIB and concentrating on “Public Leadership” and International Business and working on a project to create “Lifelong Classrooms” in Japan with a lot of inspiration drawn here.
What did you do before Fletcher?
I’ve worked for the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry in Japan for about six years, where I joined projects such as TPP negotiation between U.S. and Japan on automobile portfolio, hosting G7 Ministerial Meetings in Japan, making a new environmental regulation on the air-conditioning industry, putting economic sanctions on North Korea (and some other countries) and so on.
Where are you from?
Fukuoka, Japan. (You should visit this wonderful place when you come to Japan, seriously!)
What is your favorite, most unique place you have ever been or traveled to?
Mykonos in Greece and Yakushima in Japan (both islands).
Who are your favorite writers?
Michael Ende, Riku Onda.
Who has been the greatest inspiration in your life?
My mother.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I took the initiative to make a new policy, which had a big impact on various industries negotiating/communicating with counterparts outside and inside the Ministry, with only two-years of professional experience at that time.
Which living person do you most admire?
Too many to list here… I have so many of them including my family, friends, and professors who amazed and inspired me so much.
What has been a challenge you have faced during your career or time at Fletcher?
The work I mentioned above as one of my greatest achievements. Also, working under an awful manager in a very bureaucratic organization.
What has been your favorite moment at Fletcher so far?
Hanging out with friends, watching friends’ performances (and participating in some of them) at culture nights.
Zdenka (PhD Candidate)
What are you studying at Fletcher?
I am currently a PhD fellow at the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP), conducting research on energy technology innovation policies. And I am F15 MALD, too!
What did you do before Fletcher?
I served in Mexico’s Energy Regulatory Commission as an economist, designing the regulation in the basic petrochemicals sector.
Where are you from?
I am from the Czech Republic. I was born in Prague.
What is your favorite, most unique place you have ever been or traveled to?
I loved visiting Iceland. It was stunning to see the pristine nature and its power, and I really liked that people seemed to respect the nature there, not try to dominate it. It’s the most northern place I’ve been to and the perspective on the shape of the Earth is quite different from that spot! The clouds and the sky were on the horizon, and the Earth looked round! 🙂
Another unique place is the region of Chiapas in Mexico – the clock just stopped ticking there. It was also my first time going to a rainforest. It’s one of the richest places in the world in terms of the biodiversity of fauna and flora!
Who are your favorite writers?
This has been changing over my life. But the very classics for me are Vaclav Havel, Jan Werich, Bohumil Hrabal, Jane Austen and William Styron. I will always love their books.
Who has been the greatest inspiration in your life?
The very ancient meaning of the word “inspiration” comes from the root that means “to breathe life into.” My deepest inspirations are my close friends and my colleagues. The exchange of ideas with them, planning events together, and wondering about the world truly breathes life into me.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Thanks to Fletcher, I came to a point in my life when I feel centered and aware of the complexity of the world and life, and at the same time motivated and empowered to embrace this complexity and explore it.
Which living person do you most admire?
I admire all those who aim to truly improve people’s lives and for whom glory and power are secondary. I also admire people who are willing to learn constantly, and those who might have been hurt, but didn’t immediately fight back and instead stayed in the learning mode. I also admire people who have the courage to go a step further and explore, to prove some status quo needs to be changed.
I really admire my friends – they embody this.
What has been a challenge you have faced during your career or time at Fletcher?
I think the challenge has been to stay truly focused on daily work while finding space to discover other fields of study/interest as well. It’s so easy to get distracted with all the interesting ideas and events that are around!
What has been your favorite moment at Fletcher so far?
I very much enjoyed graduation time at Fletcher. I did not expect it could be SUCH a joyful time — the students and their families, the faculty — they all seem genuinely happy, ready to celebrate and have fun! The atmosphere is truly unique.
Lupita Ervin (Administrative Coordinator)
What do you do at Fletcher?
Administrative Coordinator
What did you do before Fletcher?
I was an Administrative Assistant for the Vice President of a construction company; my favorite was when being a 411 information operator for New England Telephone.
Where are you from?
Boston, MA
What is your favorite, most unique place you have ever been or traveled to?
I had the honor of going to Talliores, France and St. Gallen, Switzerland in 2015 for a Fletcher School Global Leadership Program. Best experience ever. The picture attached is from my travels
Who are your favorite writers?
Terry McMillan and Stephen King
Who has been the greatest inspiration in your life?
My son
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Purchasing my first home.
Which living person do you most admire?
My mom, she molded me into the person I am today.
What has been a challenge you have faced during your career or time at Fletcher?
When I took four suitcases for the France/Switzerland trip. A girl can’t have too many clothes!!
What has been your favorite moment at Fletcher so far?
Receiving the 2017 Tufts University Distinction Award.
Monica Toft (Professor of International Politics)
What do you do at Fletcher?
I am Professor of International Politics and Director, Center for Strategic Studies. I research and teach on civil wars, intervention, religion, demography in relation to U.S. national security and foreign policy more generally.
What did you do before Fletcher?
I taught at the University of Oxford and prior to that at Harvard’s Kennedy School. Attended graduate school at University of Chicago, undergrad at UC Santa Barbara, and before all that served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist.
Where are you from?
Sayville, New York, on the South shore of Long Island.
What is your favorite, most unique place you have ever been or traveled to?
Cinque Terre, Italy, the views, the treks, the food, and the wine!
Who are your favorite writers?
Anton Chekhov, George Orwell, and Ray Carver
Who has been the greatest inspiration in your life?
My mother. She taught me that most of life is a marathon rather than a sprint and what it means to commit to something.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My children. They are turning out to be interesting and simply wonderful people.
Which living person do you most admire?
Currently Pope Francis. It is brave of him to try to move the Catholic Church into the 21st Century.
What has been a challenge you have faced during your career or time at Fletcher?
Balancing family and work. I love both aspects of my life, but just don’t seem to have enough time to enjoy them as fully as I would like.
What has been your favorite moment at Fletcher so far?
Meeting the alumni from the class of 1967 at graduation. They are such an impressive group. And working as China Control for Simulex 2017; witnessing the Taiwan team give the Chinese team such a hard time.