Originally from Pokhara, Nepal, Anup dreamed of being an international journalist. He attended Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tennessee, where he majored in English Literature and Creative Writing. He attended BGIA in the summer of 2006 in search of an internship experience and specialized courses not offered at his home institution. While at BGIA, Anup started on his career path in international journalism while interning at Newsweek, where his role included supporting foreign correspondents and editors. He fondly remembers taking Tom Parker’s course on the history of terrorism and counterterrorism, and says that he drew upon the knowledge he gained in that class during his time at the Washington Post.

Marina received her B.A. from Oberlin College, majoring in politics and minoring in Middle East and North African studies. In search of a more substantive study away option with hands-on learning opportunities in the field of international affairs, her advisor, Professor Ben Schiff, recommended BGIA. She attended the program in Fall 2011 and interned at Human Rights Watch. As a part of their development and outreach team, Marina had the opportunity to contribute to the planning of an annual fundraising dinner as well as to conduct research on prospective donors. Marina credits her time at BGIA and HRW with teaching her invaluable professional networking skills and insight into the potential career paths within the NGO sector. Another highlight of her time at BGIA was the ethics course she took with Joel Rosenthal, President of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. She remembers Professor Rosenthal’s thoughtful and compassionate approach to teaching and the in-depth discussions that she was able to have with her BGIA peers about pressing issues in international affairs.

Joanna received her BA in government and English literature from Connecticut College. (summa cum laude/Phi Beta Kappa). Originally focusing on psychology and literature, Joanna decided to change her course of study after taking a course in international affairs that sparked her interest in the field. She was drawn to the program because of the opportunity to take courses for her new major and to intern at an international organization. She met former director of BGIA, Dr. Jonathan Cristol, on her campus and knew right away that she wanted to learn from his energy and enthusiasm. While at BGIA, Joanna interned at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, working with Marcus Roberts, the former director of development for the organization. She credits him for introducing her to the work of Carl von Clausewitz and the field of security studies. Joanna’s time at BGIA allowed her to connect with several mentors who taught her how to present herself with power and confidence in a workplace often dominated by men.

Fun fact: Her husband Eduardo Mills is also a BGIA alum!

A recipient of the prestigious Kellner Scholarship, Barbara came to BGIA in Fall 2011. As an aspiring diplomat, her goal was to intern with the United Nations Headquarters in NYC and that is exactly what she did. During her internship with the UN Protocol and Liaison Service, Barbara helped to prepare for the 2011 UN General Assembly Meeting. One of the highlights of her time at BGIA was taking Writing on International Affairs with Michael Moran, CEO and Chief Strategy Officer at Tranformative.io. As someone for whom English is a second language, Barbara found this course’s weekly writing assignments to be extremely beneficial, helping her greatly throughout her research and writing procedure of her MA thesis and her overall career path. The knowledge-base and global perspective that she gained at BGIA is something that she drew upon during her years interning and then working in various government offices, and even now when she has to adapt to a fast paced, competitive environment of a new field at Gedeon Richter Plc.