Year Graduated: 2020

Area of Emphasis: Environment and Development

Current Role: Sales Operations Professional

What development issues are most important or of the most interest to you?

“Definitely, climate change. I remember being a fourth-year student taking one of the seminar classes where we were asked ‘what’s the most important development issue today?’ And I wrote a whole, long paper all about climate change and how it disproportionally affects the population of the Global South and how Geographic Information Systems, which was my minor, can be used to help create some really cool maps to identify those who are most vulnerable. That was the issue most important to me in my undergraduate degree and is still very important to me today.”

What advice would you give to a current or prospective IDS undergraduate student?

“For current students: I remember being in 3rd and 4th year and not really knowing what my next steps were. I was in this weird limbo stage where I didn’t know if I wanted to pursue International Development as a career or if it was just something that I was passionate about school wise, or if I wanted to go into a master’s program. It was a weird limbo period for me, and what I would recommend to a current student is that the skills you’re gaining are super valuable, even if outside forces may want you to pursue more hard skills, the social sciences are really important, and they will set you up for success in the future. So, just keep riding it out if you’re feeling like you don’t know if you’re going to pursue the field as a long-term career. Then, to a prospective student: One of the reasons I would really recommend the program is because there’s so much cross functional cooperation. You’re going to learn history, you’re going to learn political science, geography, economics, all of these different areas. If you’re remotely interested in social sciences, the program will really enrich your university experience and allow you to have really thoughtful conversations about the world.”