I am interested in health and well-being at the intersection of society, policy and migration. With 68.5 million people forcibly displaced worldwide (2017), on-the-ground evaluation of policy-level decisions is crucial for developing sustainable frameworks. To do so, we must engage the voices of refugees whose daily life is shaped by state bureaucracy and procedures. I thus hope to pursue a foreign diplomacy career rooted in linguistic and cultural competence to foster trust-building, bilateral diplomacy, direct engagement, profound understanding and committed cooperation.
My undergraduate career is a positive indicator of my commitment to mediation, particularly among refugee and host countries. Through internships and volunteer work at refugee-focused NGOs in the US, Germany, and Spain, I have focused on the transnational diplomacy and integrated action that migration innately requires. My Honors BPhil thesis evidences the importance of incorporating the perspective of both refugees and host population into policy development and evaluation. Sustainable refugee reception and inclusion must recognize both migrants and locals as fundamental stakeholders in the process.
I am invested in learning multiple languages because communication must be rooted in understanding, not just information gathering. Increased data access does not correlate with increased transparency. Relevant cultural, historical, and linguistic acumen is imperative for genuine communication and understanding the implications of facts. Fluency in multiple key languages is thus vital to my career trajectory.
BPhil Thesis: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/36506/
