Students Inspiring Excellence
George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs student researchers had the opportunity to present their work at the 2023 Research Excellence Showcase on April 20, 2023.
The showcase provided Elliott undergraduate and graduate students an opportunity to visually highlight their research to the Elliott School’s unparalleled network of scholars and practitioners, sharpen their presentation skills, and engage in meaningful discussions about the significance of their findings.
Research topics ranged from economics, security, environment, education, gender policy, and more. All attendees appreciated the exceptional caliber of each poster, including the Elliott School program directors, faculty, staff, and fellow students.
While all posters were extraordinary, the judges ranked four in particular highly and awarded them certificates of excellence:
First: Victoria Freire, B.A. '23 International Affairs
Project Title: Uncovering Condor: What the Argentina Declassification Project Reveals About U.S. Complicity in 1976 Argentine Military Repression
Second: Anissa Ozbek, B.A. anticipated '24 International Affairs
Project Title: Gendered Policy Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Alaska
Third (tie): Ethan Goldblatt, B.A. '23 International Affairs
Project Title: Hypocrisy for International Conformity: Discordance between LGBTI Positions in the United Nations versus National Laws
Third(tie): Emily Philbrook, B.A. '23 International Affairs
Project Title: The Impact of Militarization on Community-Ranger Relations: Randilen Wildlife Management Area, Tanzania
Faiqa Khan
As a summer intern in Cambodia, working with the Agile Development Group, Faiqa Khan, a graduate student pursuing an M.A. in International Development, had many occasions to draw upon and enrich the knowledge she had gained in the classroom. “As a development major, it was nice to be in a new area where I was immersed in the culture,” she said. “It was a unique experience [learning] to adapt and speak a new language while interacting with local residents for an extended period of time.”
Elise Bourmatnov
Second-year Elliott student Elise Bourmatnov said that when she was making her college decision, it was a question of staying in her home state of Washington or heading across the country to Washington, D.C. She ultimately chose to attend GW due to its academic programs and the perks of living in the nation’s capital, like visiting the White House. “I took a red-eye here and went straight to the White House, so it was pretty tiring, but it was really cool,” she said. Beginning in the fall of 2023, Elise began an internship at the U.S. Department of State.
Anissa Ozbek
Senior Anissa Ozbek, traveled to Vienna, Austria, with the GW delegation to the 2023 Arctic Science Summit Week. At the conference, Ozbek, an undergraduate research fellow, helped present findings from the COVID-GEA Project, which seeks to understand the gendered impacts of COVID-19 in the Arctic. “I have been a research assistant on the project since 2022, so I was excited to share some of our project’s preliminary results before world-class scholars in the field of Arctic studies,” Ozbek said.
Payton Beaumier
Payton Beaumier, B.A. ’23, was recently awarded a 2023 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship following a highly competitive nationwide contest. The Pickering Fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by Howard University, supports extraordinary individuals who want to pursue careers in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State. Beaumier was chosen out of 600 outstanding candidates. After completing her graduate program, Payton will become a U.S. Foreign Service Officer.
Deseree Chacha
Now in her third year, Deseree Chacha began her undergraduate studies at Elliott thinking she would major in psychology, but after traveling across Tanzania—from Dar es Salaam to Arusha to Zanzibar—she knew she would change course and study international affairs at the Elliott School. In November 2022, Chacha received a scholarship through the Elliott Equity Fund, established in spring 2022 to encourage students from all walks of life to pursue their dreams. “This award shows that the Elliott School recognizes the need to take specific action in regards to equity,” Chacha said.
Josué Rivera Rivera
Josué Rivera Rivera, M.A. ’23, was accepted into the prestigious Cambridge International Security and Intelligence (ISI) program, which aims to partner students with leading international security scholars while exploring enduring and emerging themes in international security. Rivera credits his acceptance into the program to the resources available at the Elliott School, saying, “It’s proof of the amazing opportunities available here at the Elliott School and at GW. It starts with the amazing faculty. We have very talented professors and advisors.”
Mimi MacKilligan and Amanda Earls
Two Elliott School graduate students travel to Japan on a cultural exchange funded by the Japanese Foreign Ministry. The Kakehashi Project is a grassroots exchange program aimed at promoting a greater understanding of Japanese politics, economics, society, culture, history, and foreign policy. Mimi MacKilligan, M.A. International Affairs, and Amanda Earls, M.A. Asian Studies both graduated in 2023. The group traveled from Kanto to Kansai—two regions in central Japan—where they visited Tokyo, Osaka and Nara. The experience “exceeded every expectation I had,” MacKilligan said.
Carla Dell’Angelica
Carla Dell’Angelica, B.A. ’23, was one of 25 Elliott School students to receive the I/WE Student Award, which supports students dedicated to advancing the role of women in the field of international affairs. The awards are competitive. More than 90 undergraduate and graduate students applied. The Elliott School offered awards to nearly a third of applicants, for a total of $118,300 in support. Those chosen were students who demonstrated a clear commitment to amplifying the voices of women in the foreign policy space and financial need.
Anthony Hu
Anthony Hu, a senior at the Elliott School, secured a summer internship at the Peace Palace Library in The Hague. He worked at the front desk and assisted students with finding resources to help them conduct their research. Hu was also awarded a 2023 Key into Public Service Scholarship, which highlights the wide range of career opportunities for liberal arts and sciences majors in local, state or federal government. He was one of only 20 students selected from over 900 applicants and received a $5,000 undergraduate scholarship.
Oliver Haddow
Oliver Haddow, B.A. ’23, began his multi-year Peace Corps appointment in Senegal shortly after Commencement. Haddow was inspired by Elliott School Adjunct Professor Matthew Kirwin, who taught Ethnic and Religious Conflict in Africa and would frequently place personal anecdotes within his lectures of his time in the Peace Corps from 1996 to 1999 in Niger. Haddow utilized GW Career Services resources to tailor his resume and prepare for a Peace Corps interview.
Arzina Lakhani
Arzina Lakhani, B.A. ’23, spent two years cultivating a climate change research project as part of the Elliott School of International Affairs’ Dean Scholars Program. She studied the intersectional impacts of climate-induced migration in her first home of Hyderabad, India, by traveling there, conducting interviews, and analyzing policies. Her international research experience helped her land an internship with the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality, where she helped organize roundtables with grassroots leaders and nonprofits to hear their needs.
Meghan Sullivan
Dean’s Scholar Meghan Sullivan, B.A. ’23, was honored at George Washington University’s 2023 Academic Honors Ceremony. In addition to being a Dean’s Scholar, Sullivan held several notable internships and won numerous awards, including the Undergraduate Research Award at GW. She published two pieces in “The Diplomat,” a current affairs magazine for the Asia-Pacific region. Sullivan currently works as a program assistant for the Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands programs at the United States Institute of Peace.
Riya Bhushan and Sophie Rosenthal
Elliott School undergraduate research assistants Riya Bhushan, B.A. ’23, and current senior Sophie Rosenthal traveled to Iceland with professor Marya Rozanova-Smith to present at a “The Arctic Circle Assembly” conference. “We were two of 50 youth representatives in attendance out of more than 2,000 Arctic experts and policymakers,” the pair said. “We were motivated to join the COVID-GEA project after taking Rozanova-Smith’s Arctic Affairs class, where we began developing a tracker for COVID-19 gender-responsive policies for selected Arctic communities at the national, regional and local levels.”
Skye Jannery-Barney
Skye Jannery-Barney, B.A. ’23, traveled to Egypt with the GW delegation to the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP27. At the conference, Jannery-Barney presented on “Mobilizing for a Greener Future,” focusing on how universities and non-governmental organizations use smart technologies to enact climate solutions. “I had compiled interviews and research about several GW student environmental organizations to speak about younger generational leadership in the fight against climate change and the need to listen to underrepresented voices,” she said.
By Nick Erickson
She’s from India and has spent the bulk of her graduate studies at George Washington University learning about international organizations as well as Asian history and politics. But this summer, Medha Prasanna is spending her time on Capitol Hill working for the U.S. Congress.
The Elliott School of International Affairs graduate student was selected as a prestigious Harold Rosenthal Fellow, providing summer funding and work opportunities in a congressional or executive branch office to students demonstrating outstanding commitment to international affairs and interest in public service. Prasanna, who began her post on May 23, will be a fellow for the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Asia Pacific Team, where she will spend much of her time doing general research.
“In a sense, what America does has an effect on everybody in the world,” she said. “I feel like if I'm contributing or if I'm in public service to the U.S. in some way, that's going to have a ripple effect that affects my country and other countries. “Being a global citizen is sort of what the fellowship stands for.”
She understands the fellowship is about governance in the United States and therefore can be difficult to answer as to why an international student studying policy of another region wants to work in U.S. government. But she believes what happens in the halls of Congress is pivotal to the geopolitical scene.
“In a sense, what America does has an effect on everybody in the world,” she said. “I feel like if I'm contributing or if I'm in public service to the U.S. in some way, that's going to have a ripple effect that affects my country and other countries.
“Being a global citizen is sort of what the fellowship stands for.”
The fellowship was established in 1977 to honor the memory of Harold Rosenthal, a Senate staff member who at age 29 was a victim of a terrorist attack while on duty. It is a program of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization striving for a more effective government for American citizens.
Prasanna, who attended Ashoka University near Delhi, India, before arriving at GW, has determined through her studies the importance of looking at international relations through regional approaches. While she believes there is merit in being an expert of one country, she sees even more value in observing how nations react to one another.
In terms of the Asia Pacific, specifically, Prasanna believes it is the next hub when it comes to global problems such as climate change, pollution, cybersecurity, backsliding democracies, land and maritime conflicts. She understands how supply chains in the region are critical to the normal functioning of a global society. Having knowledge and understanding of the region behooves any government laying out policy, including the United States.
In the classroom, she has also noted the importance of learning and processing history and how certain events drive policy today.
“I think Congress is very important to American foreign policy,” Prasanna said. “I just want to understand when there's a crisis, what is the legislative response; what are the processes? I want to learn now so I can navigate these things better when I'm in in an international organization myself.”
After the fellowship, Prasanna has ambitions of working with an international organization in hopes of traveling to different places to better understand local people and policies. But with how much global influence U.S. foreign affairs can have, Prasanna is excited to spend the summer learning the nuances and intricacies of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and U.S. government in general.
“I think Congress is very important to American foreign policy,” Prasanna said. “I just want to understand when there's a crisis, what is the legislative response; what are the processes? I want to learn now so I can navigate these things better when I'm in in an international organization myself.”
She already has government and international organization experience as she completed a public information internship at the United Nations, and she was a Student Association graduate senator-at-large. Prasanna is also pleased with the value of her GW education, shouting out Elliott School faculty member David Shambaugh as a particular person of influence.
If her attention to detail is any indication, Prasanna fits the bill of being a future civic leader. She found out about the fellowship through an email from the Elliott School’s Graduate Student Services. She makes sure to read everything that comes through her inbox. Because of this diligence, however, she found what could be a life-changing and career-defining opportunity.
Once she applied, GW nominated her to the fellowship, which then set her up with standard placement interviews. She found out her destination for the summer at the end of April. The fellowship will end Aug. 19, just before the fall semester begins.
Her former career coach at GW, Sharon Swabb, believes the multiple qualities of leadership Prasanna possesses will set her up for success both this summer and beyond.
“Medha is exceedingly kind and empathetic, which are qualities that will serve her well not only when leading a team, but also when striving to make future alliances and partnerships,” Swabb said. “The Rosenthal Fellowship made an excellent choice in choosing her for their program.”
“You might hear a lot of no’s in Washington, but no’s are a part of the process and often lead to something better,” she said.
Prasanna is well on her way to a career seeking to improve the lives of others, and she’d like to start by encouraging other GW students who have faced rejection—which she did before getting her big yes—to stay the course and continue applying for opportunities.
“You might hear a lot of no’s in Washington, but no’s are a part of the process and often lead to something better,” she said.
And, of course, she said, always read your emails.