Almarie’s spring semester update

We check in today with Almarie, already planning her post-Fletcher life in spite of feeling like she’s just arrived! I share that sentiment; it seems like just a few weeks ago that she began her work in the Registrar, located directly across the hall from the Admissions office. I love getting to see Almarie several times a week and have trouble believing her time here is nearly finished!

I didn’t expect to almost cry when I walked in the Hall of Flags during our first week of classes this semester. I have a lot of mixed emotions knowing this is my last semester at Fletcher. There’s sadness because I won’t have another academic year with such amazing individuals, having important discussions with professors, and working along with staff. I do feel happy to know I will join the Fletcher network and I will have the privilege of working in the international field. Even though this is one of my last blogs, these next three more months will be one for the books.

This semester I am taking three Fletcher courses and an independent study. I am taking North Korea State and Society (Professor Lee) , Engaging in Human Security (Professor Theidon), and Children, Protection, and Resilience (Professor Mazurana). In North Korea State and Society, I’m continuing my research on Women’s Rights within North Korea that I previously did my last semester in Politics of the Korean Peninsula. I am interested in getting a deeper understanding of how human security can be implemented “and if possible” in North Korea. Hopefully, finding research on women and girls while also focusing on children. Engaging in Human Security changes your perspective on what security is and how it should be implemented. I am enjoying stepping out of my comfort zone and just getting more knowledge. In Children, Protection, and Resilience, we have the opportunity of truly learning how to do protection work, to challenge our understanding of what a “child” is around the world, and how resilient children are to conflict and instability. The independent study is for my capstone, in which I have joined Dr. Mazurana on a policy memo for the White House Task Force on Unaccompanied Children leaving Afghanistan. Now that there’s only three months before graduation, I am joining the long list of graduate students looking for a job. I always have to remind myself that looking for a job is in fact a job. It takes patience  and commitment. I am looking for positions in topic areas such as gender policy, research, advocacy, protection, children, conflict resolution, human security etc.

In my extracurricular activities, I continue to be a Student Representative for the Committee in Academic Programs, a Fletcher Admission Ambassador, a Graduate Assistant for the Registrar, a co-leader for the Fletcher Latin America Group (FLAG), and the Ralph Bunche Society (RBS). I want to invite everyone to take some time during Black History Month (and after) to support Black businesses, to get involved in community work, or to just simply grab a book and learn something new on the importance of diversity and inclusion. RBS, the Africana Club, and FLAG are sending bios of Black and African Fletcher alumni every week of this month. Please be on the lookout. It is a great way to connect, network, and see what Fletcher alumni are working on.