School of Diplomacy and International Relations Viewbook

School of Diplomacy and International Relations

Influencing Policy Working for Change

Message from the Dean

Courtney B. Smith, Ph.D.

It is my pride and pleasure to accompany you through these pages to introduce you to our students, faculty and alumni. You will find a unique school dedicated to shaping the student experience based on your interests. I invite you to learn about customizing your studies, flexible scheduling, professional internships, research opportunities with faculty members, and the support you’ll get for developing your own passion and skills through student organizations.

Our proximity to New York, our programs at the United Nations, in Washington, D.C., and abroad, our diverse community and renowned experts, and our countless opportunities for research and leadership are unparalleled.

Our faculty and administrators coach students to success, providing exclusive opportunities to find your niche and gain an advantage in the field.

Seton Hall students are driven by values and a philosophy of servant leadership. Our students are empowered to bring forth their ideas to expand their learning and assume leadership roles. We train students to prevent the problems facing our world, not simply to fix them. At the School of Diplomacy, students work alongside the experts as colleagues. We are influencing policy and working for change.

Join us.

About the School of Diplomacy

Personal Connections and Our Community

Keshav Agiwal Undergraduate Student

Keshav Agiwal attends law school at the University of Richmond after graduating in 3 years with a double major in diplomacy and international relations and philosophy. The School’s close-knit community helped him flourish.

Small class size and personal connections are very important. I think my largest class had 30 students. The professors are always there for you on any issue. It’s an open-door policy. Everyone is willing to help.

The professors create an accepting environment by using the Socratic method, which is also used in law school and enables intellectual discussion. We learn by understanding each other’s perspectives.

The School empowers students to start their own initiatives. I founded Taal, Seton Hall’s Competitive Classical Fusion Indian Dance Team, to bring my culture to my peers.

As a staff writer on the Diplomatic Envoy, the School’s foreign affairs newspaper, I’ve had the chance to develop my writing and analytical skills on international news subjects including the environment, a special interest of mine.

I interned at The Tinker Institute on International Law and Organizations, founded by Catherine Tinker, who teaches regularly at the School. I represented the Institute at meetings of the Commission on the Status of Women, a body of the United Nations. The theme involved gender equality and climate risk. Learning from all the speakers inspired my senior thesis on how the gender of world leaders impacts climate policy.

As a scholar of the Buccino Leadership Institute, I worked with students from every school on campus. I learned the skills that are important to leaders in every field and then delved deeper to build skills specific to my own career, which helped build my confidence.

The School offers graduate and undergraduate students an intimate learning environment through small, multicultural classes, an open-door policy and a culture of collaboration, with administrators and professors working alongside students as colleagues.

Learn about our Leadership Program.

Learn about The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations.

Skill Building Opportunities

We are a professional School of international affairs providing students a bridge from the theory of the classroom into the practice of today’s competitive workplace. Student media and podcasts offer opportunities to publish and broadcast.

Shivani Shah Graduate Student

As editor-in-chief of the Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, I am sharpening my writing abilities and my leadership skills. Being responsible for nearly two dozen students, I am learning to lead as I mentor students and run meetings and networking events. I am also learning as I liaise with faculty members, the Dean and representatives from other international relations schools. It is a demanding and challenging job, yet rewarding. The experience of working with the Journal is open to all graduate students and I encourage all students to participate. You can learn a lot!

I serve as the graduate student representative on the School’s Board of Advisors. All these responsibilities are helping me grow, which will make me more effective in the workplace. My work experience as a paralegal and legal assistant helped me hone my eye for detail and organization. Whether working

in the professional world or as a graduate student, these skills are incredibly important. My writing abilities and analytical mind also helped me in my course work and in my leadership position.

I chose the School for its connections to the United Nations and proximity to both New York City and Washington, D.C. The School’s specialization in international law and human rights really caught my eye. I knew I would thrive in a close-knit learning environment.

I plan to take the Foreign Service Officer Test administered by the U.S. Department of State. I am also using my experience in international law and human rights in the private sector. I just secured a position as a legal analyst in the fund management office of an investment hedge fund.

New York Advantage

Students benefit from the University’s proximity — just 14 miles — to the United Nations and New York City, a hub for international finance and business leaders, the global media and international organizations in every sector from human rights to health to cybersecurity. Our unique relationship with the United Nations includes courses held at UN headquarters and with UN staff, immersing participants in the political dynamics of this unique organization while building their public speaking, critical thinking and negotiating skills.

Jarrett Dang Undergraduate Student

I interned as a press intern at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, part of the U.S. State Department, during my junior year. It gave me a first-hand look at the daily workings of government, media and the United Nations and how they all interact.

When the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, visited the School for a lecture, Jarrett had the opportunity to sit on stage with her and ask the first question about the war in Ukraine.

It felt surreal, but in a good way. It was an amazing opportunity to interact with a top diplomat and learn her views on world events, helping me put a human face on the news. Both working in journalism and working digitally, seeing everything through a screen, makes it easy to forget that there are real people who are working on these global issues. Meeting the Ambassador and hearing her experiences helped me empathize with her, and everyone who is trying to figure out these problems.

I am the editor-in-chief of The Diplomatic Envoy, having been a part of the publication since my sophomore year. We cover the international issues that are capturing headlines around the world and analyze the news for the students on campus. That position helped me secure an internship with American Public Media in Manhattan on the Marketplace Morning Report, a national radio show that focuses on business news. It airs on many public radio stations, including National Public Radio. The host of the show, David Brancaccio, is on the School’s Board of Advisors and invited students to apply for an internship. Through the internship, I’ve had the chance to hone my interviewing, writing and other media skills and use my background in economics.

Upon graduation, Jarrett secured a full-time job at the Marketplace Morning Report with American Public Media, in a position created for him.

Learn about the Center for UN and Global Governance Studies.

Learn about the Semester in Washington, D.C.

Semester in Washington, D.C.

We offer a Semester in Washington, D.C., Program during which students pursue high-profile internships in government, business or the non-profit sector while taking weekly courses with experts at the United Nations Foundation.

Tajah McCray Graduate Student

The School’s Director of Internships and Career Development helped me to secure my internship and a spot in the Semester in D.C. program. The Director reviewed my resume and recommended that I subscribe to the House’s vacancy announcement bulletin, which posts available jobs on Capitol Hill. The director is a great resource, very kind and supportive.

The Semester in Washington, D.C., has helped me to build character, become stronger and more organized. It’s an incredibly fast-paced environment, working Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and then attending classes on Fridays.

My internship at the U.S. House of Representatives with the Foreign Affairs Committee is very exciting. I selected the internship because I wanted a better understanding of how government works, how bills are passed and how diplomacy works. The D.C. curriculum has taught me about the history of

Washington, the organizations in the area and the U.S. government institutions.

What I am learning here in Washington and at the School of Diplomacy is helping me as my interests evolve. I came in thinking about the Peace Corps. Now I am also considering think tanks and the National Security Council. I want to make a positive impact on people’s lives.

The opportunity to work in Congress is unexpected and very emotional. I feel very proud as a Black, African American woman, whose ancestors passed through a tragic history, to be moving through these halls. I feel like I am pushing history forward for Black people. This has been a great culmination of the opportunities the School afforded me to participate in the Public Policy New Voices diversity fellowship and the School’s Black Diplomacy Student Organization.

Undergraduate Program Opportunities

Our Bachelor of Science in Diplomacy and International Relations degree is designed to provide students with an understanding of the events, places, processes and people that characterize world affairs. Students develop a strong foundation in international relations, history, economics, ethics and master a foreign language. They acquire leadership skills, nurture a strong sense of good judgement and build the self-confidence necessary to succeed in their careers.

Shweta Parthasarathy Undergraduate Student

A high school Model UN competition first drew me into global affairs. The discussions on international relations involved politics, religion and topics from nuclear weapons to colonizing Mars. It was very exciting.

I was attracted to Seton Hall because the University has a school dedicated specifically to the study of diplomacy and international relations. In many other universities, the international relations major is located within a larger school.

Individual attention from the dean and the professors, and an intimate atmosphere in a smaller school, is important to me. My professors are very supportive. We are on a first-name basis. They have an open-door policy and will talk with us about anything. Professors like Dr. Zinaida Miller, who teaches human rights law and policy, are very inspiring. She can answer any question on international justice, and she is never afraid to speak her mind.

The School offers many opportunities for participation and leadership outside the classroom. In the spring of my sophomore year, I started Girl Up Seton Hall, a chapter of the global initiative started by the United Nations Foundation. I wanted to create a safe space to talk about issues that might come up when you’re the only female and person of color in a class or meeting. We communicate with Girl Up’s headquarters and host community programs and events such as a movie night for Women’s History Month, and a speakers series featuring conversations with female faculty members. We talk through micro-aggressions, like being interrupted or talked over.

I manage SHU Taal, an Indian classical dance team. I am also on the staff of The Diplomatic Envoy, the School’s foreign affairs news platform. I have been digital editor and next year I will be opinion editor. It will give me an opportunity to strengthen my own opinions as I edit the opinions of others.

Learn about our undergraduate programs.

Graduate Program Opportunities

Our Master’s programs in Diplomacy and International Relations are designed to provide students with the knowledge and ability to effectively meet the challenges of an exciting career. Graduates secure jobs in government, business, international organizations and civil society. Students leave Seton Hall with a thorough understanding of international affairs, a set of skills and leadership abilities essential in the field of diplomacy and the self-confidence to draw upon their education to advance their careers.

Ahmad Chowdhury Graduate Student

I know I want to be a diplomat in some capacity because diplomacy can resolve differences through dialogue. I want to work at the nexus of international law and foreign policy and help build bridges between the United States and other countries. My public international law class with Professor Philip Moremen, helped solidify my decision to go to law school.

I’ve found the dialogue in the School’s classrooms to be incredible. We build social cohesion in our classes. There are usually 12 to 20 students per class. The School’s professors are excellent. They are involved in the fields they teach in the classroom and are open to discussing any issue. It is exciting to learn from other students, including the direct experiences of international students. In my international environmental law class, a student from Nigeria spoke eloquently about the environmental problems in his country. Another student from Syria talked about the conflicts there, while a student from Ukraine offered insights far beyond what we could read in reports and the news.

I’m building skills to use in law school and in my career, especially how to present my ideas clearly, organize my thoughts, improve my writing capabilities, and recognize the importance of choosing the right words, which can be critical.

We also have opportunities to develop leadership skills. I was president of the International Law Society. The society is led by students and gives us a place to learn about critical issues in international law. As president, I created a podcast, “Article 38,” to provide a space for in-depth discussion on international law. [Article 38 is an article of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, which was established by the Charter of the United Nations and pertains to international law treaties.] Each 30-minute podcast is led by a Diplomacy student. We’ve had discussions with UN diplomats about territorial disputes in the context of international law. We’ve talked about Kashmir, Palestine and Crimea.

Academic Programs

The rigorous course of study students pursue at either the graduate or undergraduate level equips them to become the leaders of tomorrow, prepared to make a difference in the world.

Undergraduate

Programs

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Diplomacy and International Relations

From health to economics, from human rights to international law, the most pressing global challenges transcend national boundaries and require collaboration. Students come to realize that no one nation — or people — can thrive alone.

5 Year. B.S./M.A. Diplomacy and International Relations

Through an extended program of study, dualdegree students accelerate their academic experience, earning both a bachelor’s and master’s degree.

B.S.+ J.D. Diplomacy and Juris Doctorate

In the six-year (3+3) dual-degree program, students pursue an accelerated curriculum, graduating with a global foundation and an edge from Seton Hall Law, one of the nation’s leading law schools.

Courses

Art and Science of Negotiation

International Conflict and Security

Institutions of Global Governance

Ethnopolitical Landscape

Comparative Foreign Policy

Public International Law

Sustainable Development

International Political Economy

Economic Aspects of International Relations

World Religions

Human Rights

Research Project

Graduate

Programs

M.A. in Diplomacy and International Relations

A customizable program with 13 specializations that develops a niche professional profile in preparation for diverse career paths.

Executive M.S. in International Affairs

This accelerated, flexible program trains globally-minded professionals to build on their existing expertise with advanced skills. Requires 7 years of work experience.

Online Executive M.S. in International Affairs

The online version of our program for mid-career professionals.

Online Executive M.S. in International Affairs and Diplomatic Practice

In partnership with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Includes their training for UN diplomats and staff.

Dual Degrees

Available with Law, Public Administration, Business or Communication.

Specializations ■ Foreign Policy Analysis

Global Health and Human Security*

Global Negotiation and Conflict Management*

International Economics and Development*

International Law and Human Rights*

International Organizations

International Security

Post-Conflict State Reconstruction and Sustainability* Regional Specializations

Africa*

Asia

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East

Graduate Certificates

Global Health Management

Post-Conflict State Reconstruction and Sustainability

United Nations Studies * Available online

Professional Development

Alondra Duncan-Belford Graduate Student

Along with the director, my primary responsibility is guiding students through our internship programs and helping them set their professional goals. I draft announcements and updates that are sent out to let students know about internship and job opportunities. I also help plan and carry out many of the events the School hosts as part of our career development activities. We have speakers who work in international relations, including the United Nations, the Peace Corps, and numerous non-governmental organizations. We also hold workshops to help students develop their professional skills and secure a job, such as writing cover letters, setting up LinkedIn profiles and editing resumes.

As a graduate assistant, I receive full tuition coverage and the opportunity to complete a dual program of study with the Stillman School of Business. I have learned a lot from the director of internships and career development. I’ve met people I never would have had the chance to meet, including speakers working in IR and students from other schools on campus.

I especially enjoy the student interaction and have made new friends. I am also connecting with students through the Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, where I am the social media associate.

I graduated from the College of William & Mary with a Bachelor of Arts in government and Latin American studies. My interaction with School of Diplomacy Professor Benjamin Goldfrank played a part in my decision to attend Seton Hall. He teaches classes on Latin American politics, society, and economic development and looks at U.S. foreign policy toward the region. I was inspired by his work. When I was applying for grad school, I reached out to him to discuss the program and he was very welcoming. The interaction between the professors and students is very supportive. I felt very welcomed when I arrived on campus.

My graduate specialization is foreign policy analysis. I am considering a career in international finance, combining politics and social and economic issues. My career goals are evolving as I learn and grow at Seton Hall.

The School’s dedicated Office of Internships and Career Development is always ready to help students secure valuable internships and craft the job-hunting skills they need to find their place in the contemporary work world.

Learn about internships.

Centers and Research

The School’s four research centers are actively engaged in finding solutions for some of our world’s most complex challenges. From on the ground peacebuilding efforts and field work, to blog posts, data analysis and research, our students and faculty are looking for new ways to approach and prevent future problems.

CENTER FOR FOREIGN POLICY STUDIES

The Center examines how states across the world respond to emerging challenges and opportunities.

CENTER FOR GLOBAL HEALTH STUDIES

This think tank views infectious diseases, bioterrorism, and other global health issues from a foreign policy and security perspective

CENTER FOR PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES

A creative hub that merges cuttingedge research and education with initiatives that reduce violence and build more peaceful societies and international relations.

CENTER FOR UN AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE STUDIES

Students and faculty conduct research on the U.S./UN relationship and other themes connected to international organizations.

Expert Colleague

We are staffed by world-class faculty who have served as ambassadors, sat at tense tables to resolve conflicts, strengthened the rule of international law, won a Nobel Peace Prize and helped design global environmental treaties.

Faculty Spotlight: Margarita Balmaceda, Ph.D.

Meet

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Professor Margarita Balmaceda’s latest book, Russian Energy Chains: The Remaking of Techno Politics from Siberia to Ukraine to the European Union, has brought her directly into the center of the global conversation about the conflict and the global economy. Serving as an expert in the media, she has been following the Nord Stream Pipelines, the complex web of interconnections that accompany the energy and political relationships between Russian oil and gas producers, post-Soviet transit states and European consumers for the last two decades.

A native of Argentina, Professor Balmaceda has centered her professional life in the United States and Eastern Europe with research experience throughout Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Hungary and Moldova. In addition to teaching at the School of Diplomacy, Professor Balmaceda is an

associate at two Harvard University research centers: the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and the Ukrainian Research Institute. At the School, her courses cover a range of topics from Politics of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity, to Post-Soviet and East European Politics and Master’s Reasearch Project.

I use my research to inspire students and show them the unexpected connections between events and players in world affairs. For example, this semester, I had the students create a board game about Russian energy chains.

It is great to see a student take on a central idea presented in class and develop it, and through that development, find some aspect of the idea that is unexpected and develop it fully. To see that independence of thought and watch the student grow intellectually is very rewarding.

The close contact the students have with their professors and the School’s administrators is very unique. I think students understand and appreciate that the School truly cares about them. There is a system in place for in-depth mentorship. We’re not the only university with good professors. But we are unique in having opportunities for close contact with the professors and mentorship.

Listen to a conversation with Professor Balmaceda.

our faculty.

Learn about the National Security Fellowship Program.

Practical Experience

Research Centers and cutting-edge programs including DiploLab and the National Security Fellowship offer students hands-on, collaborative spaces to build solutions to crucial global issues alongside faculty and practitioners.

Chimdi Chukwukere Graduate Student

Coming from Nigeria, it was surreal to be in the Pentagon the day we presented our research findings as part of the School’s National Security Fellowship Team. We went from there to the U.S. State Department to present to the diplomats and analysts who had commissioned our research. The policy analysis proposal we presented was titled, “Enhancing the U.S. Strategic Relationship with Pakistan,” and my research examined water insecurity. The Fellowship is demanding, with intense and satisfying work-building analysis, writing and teamwork skills.

Connecting one-on-one with world-class faculty and great students from all over the world and learning from them is priceless. Seton Hall offered a good fulcrum for these relationships to flourish. The caliber of expert speakers and mentors we had access to through the Fellowship took us much beyond the classroom experience. Events also help us connect. As a leader of a student organization,

I helped host a screening of the documentary, “The American Diplomat,” about the first Black diplomats in the U.S. State Department, with the director and the author of the research that inspired the documentary.

Student organizations are an important way to contribute on campus. As Graduate Chair of the Black Diplomacy Student Organization, I reach out to graduate students to try to give Black students a place to be heard. I also write for our student newspaper, The Diplomatic Envoy, and I am a technical producer for our radio news show, The Global Current, reporting and publishing international news.

When I graduate with my M.A., specializing in foreign policy analysis and international organizations, my next step is to work as an intelligence analyst in the private sector.

Jasmine DeLeon Undergraduate Student

As a researcher in the DiploLab, I coded separatist interactions happening in the Western Sahara and the Kurdistan region of Iraq. My experience has helped me identify and explore the type of work I want to pursue when I graduate. It was one of the reasons I was selected to intern at the Modern War Institute at the U.S. Military Academy of West Point during the spring 2022 semester. That internship built on my experience as a National Security Fellow for Girl Security in the fall of 2021.

DiploLab, a collaborative research space for students and professors, teaches research methods and best practices. There are really great students in DiploLab who inspire me to work hard and pursue my ambitions. Professor Joseph Huddleston, who founded DiploLab, is extremely supportive and a great mentor.

The School has also given me the opportunity to develop my journalism skills through the Global Current, a weekly podcast on international relations, and The Diplomatic Envoy, the foreign affairs newspaper.

I am the executive producer at the Current and lead a team of 50 students. It gives me an opportunity to combine my interests in journalism and security and international relations. We use big picture thinking and tap into the expertise of professors and experts on issues such as the crisis in Yemen.

Learn about the DiploLab.

Learn about opportunities to study abroad.

STUDY ABROAD

We encourage undergraduate students to take advantage of the many opportunities for a semester or summer study abroad to polish their skills in any of the 8 languages Seton Hall offers: Arabic; Chinese; French; German; Italian; Japanese; Spanish and Russian.

In addition, graduate and undergraduate students participate in intensive short-term tours, led by Diplomacy faculty as a simulated diplomatic state visit, meeting with a variety of officials at their headquarters. Examples include:

■ African Union Seminar in Ethiopia ■ Conflict on the Green Line Seminar in Cyprus

■ Economic Rise Seminar in China

Students also have the opportunity to study outside of campus through our field seminars including the United Nations Summer Study Program, a week-long immersion into the inner workings of the UN.

EXAMPLES OF DIPLOMACY

STUDENT-FOCUSED OPPORTUNITIES

■ DiploLab

Collaborative space for undergraduate student/faculty research

■ National Security Fellowship Policy analysis in support of a mission requirement of vital U.S. agencies for graduate student scholars

■ Research Centers

Contribute to faculty-driven research

■ Diplomatic Envoy Student-run newspaper

■ Global Current Weekly podcast and radio broadcast on WSOU

■ Journal of Diplomacy

Student edited research journal

■ Black Diplomacy Student Organization

A supportive community for networking, career development and academic excellence

■ International Law Society

A forum for learning about international law and careers in the field

■ Model United Nations Offers competitive collegiate MUN team and organizes high school competition

■ Women in Diplomacy Leadership Program Strives to empower female leaders within the School

Diplomacy students lead all over campus, including making up 25% of the Student Government Association’s voting body.

Learn about many more Diplomacy-led and University student organizations

Return on Investment

Equipped with knowledge, skills and experience, Diplomacy

alumni are making an impact around the world. The diverse experiences gained during their studies have prepared our graduates for exciting and challenging careers. Many alumni move straight to positions in the public, private and non-profit sectors while others advance their education at prestigious graduate and post-graduate programs in the U.S. and abroad.

J. Nathan Bland Graduate Alumnus

On a practical level, I don’t think I would even have my job if it wasn’t for the School of Diplomacy. My desire to work with the State Department inspired me to attend. I knew I wanted to be a U.S. diplomat.

After receiving my bachelor’s, I worked as an English language instructor in Xinjiang, China. While there, I began researching graduate programs and the School’s program is the one that spoke to me. Seton Hall’s reputation and Catholicity appealed to me. The School’s great relationship with the United Nations and the United Nations Association, and its dual degree programs interested me.

The Foreign Service Officer Test prep course that I took for one semester helped me take the test successfully. In addition, my cross-cultural negotiation and conflict management classes gave me great tools for understanding negotiations, which come in handy in many ways.

The support of the professors was so important. I have developed life-long relationships with some of my professors. Monsignor Robert Wister officiated my wedding and baptized both my kids. I credit Associate Dean Ursula Sanjamino with jump-starting

my career. If it wasn’t for her, I never would have applied to be a President Management Fellow (PMF). The PMF placed me in my first posting in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs in Washington, D.C.

I’ve only chosen positions and assignments that I felt would be doing something to make a positive impact in the world. I went to serve at the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See in Rome for my second assignment. We were working on issues to try to make the world better, such as interreligious dialogue and using that dialogue towards progress on common human goals like protecting the environment, combatting world hunger and improving global health. Each day, I would have the same sense of awe walking through St. Peter’s Square on the way to work. My very next assignment, I went to work in the Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs to lead U.S. delegations to meetings on marine environmental protection. I was dealing with issues that affect us all as humans.

In my current position, I’m introducing people in my home region to careers in the State Department. Providing them with information about opportunities that I wish I had known. That can be life changing.

Undergraduate Alumna

I didn’t plan on a career in Washington D.C. I am from St. Peters, Missouri, outside of St. Louis, and went to a Catholic high school. I had been thinking about law school originally. But then a brochure arrived in the mail and I learned about the School of Diplomacy. I was attracted by the honors program and the close-knit community. Its proximity to New York City — without actually being in the city and all its distractions!

The School’s professors have practical, actual work experience in the policy areas they are teaching, including former ambassadors.

The School’s Office of Internships and Career Development helped me secure an internship with Global Nomads Group, a non-profit in New York City, for the summer of 2009. That made me aware of human trafficking and the scope of this worldwide problem. I knew then, this is the issue I want to keep working on. The School’s Office of Internships also made me aware of the internship in Senator Lugar’s office. A Seton Hall graduate worked in his office, which helped me secure the internship in

2010. Most of his interns were from Indiana. That internship definitely helped me secure my first job in Senator Rubio’s office.

In Senator Rubio’s office, I started as a legislative correspondent on foreign policy issues in July 2011, right after I graduated. When I left, I was a legislative assistant for foreign policy and human rights. I decided to secure an MA in Security Studies from Georgetown, working full-time and taking courses during the summer to obtain my degree in two years.

Right now, as a senior professional staff member at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I am leading on legislation that relates to human trafficking. It’s an issue that remains important to me. We work on other crucial issues, including human rights, democracy, refugees — whatever is in the news. We’re trying to help people and improve their lives. It’s why I wanted to work in public policy. I am still using the skills I first gained at the School of Diplomacy a decade ago for good to help people.

Maggie Dougherty

What great minds can do.