Congratulations to our STIA graduates!
The STIA Program congratulates the 73 STIA majors and 17 STIA minors who are graduating this year and welcomes them to the growing community of STIA Alumni.
The COVID-19 outbreak has illustrated how our leaders must be able to understand fundamental concepts in science and technology to fully grasp the complexity of today’s global policy problems. Our STIA graduates are uniquely positioned to go out into the world and drive innovative solutions to the world’s biggest problems.
This year there were 73 STIA grads across the 4 concentrations. We also have 17 STIA minors from Georgetown College and the School of Nursing and Health Studies.
Our STIA graduates are off to a wide range of post-graduation plans and career paths. For example, Nathan Bergin will be interning at In-Q-Tel over the summer in their biotechnology and national security lab, then starting full time in Deloitte Consulting’s Government and Public Sector Practice in early September. Olivia van den Born, Vikram Venkatram, Brian Britt, Nicolo Ferretti, Jamie Hood and Luke O’Grady are completing the Master’s in Security Studies as part of the accelerated program. Carly Munger will be working as an Alternative Investments analyst at BlackRock in New York. Emily Shambaugh will be starting her Master of Public Health in Environmental Health Science at Columbia University. Roya Wolfe will be working for Vivint Energy as a solar energy consultant in sales. And Dhruv Johri is planning to build a gamification system to incentivize college students to cook!
This year, several of our STIA students were recognized with prestigious awards. STIA senior Siddharth Muchhal is the recipient of the 2021 Charles Weiss Medal. The Charles Weiss Medal is presented annually to a graduating senior for overall academic excellence in the field of Science, Technology & International Affairs (STIA). STIA senior Sarah Wingfield received the Asian Studies Program’s Director’s award for Science, Technology in Asia for her senior research project exploring the implications of North Korea’s estimated reserves of rare earth elements (REE). In addition, STIA senior Kristen Richich is winner of the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service fellowship offered by the National Science Foundation which provides scholarships to students to earn degrees critical for cybersecurity in exchange for service in the form of employment in a governmental cybersecurity position.
This year we had 12 students participate in the STIA honors thesis program, listed below:
Madison Alvarez, advisor Rebecca Katz – Depictions of COVID-19 on Social Media: How Digital Misinformation and Poor Crisis Communication Hinder Outbreak Response
Brian Britt, advisor Jeremy Mathis – Icebreakers as a Tool for American Power Projection in the Alaskan Arctic
Zane Chowdhry, advisor Rajesh Veeraraghavan – Understanding Online Hate Speech Across Urdu and English
Kell Crowley, advisor Rajesh Veeraraghavan – Data and Crises: Using Private Sector Data in Disaster Management
Maydha Dhanuka, advisor Emily Mendenhall – “It Doesn’t Matter What I Think”: Perceptions and Experiences of COVID-19 in Rural Northern California
Jack Hennessey, advisor Uwe Brandes – Adaptation in Emerging Urban Africa: Assessing Equity in the ‘Making Cities Sustainable and Resilient’ UN Action
Emma Morris, advisor Emily Mendenhall – Violence and Health: How Multidimensional Violence Shapes Women’s Health in Soweto and Nairobi
Zachary Pulsifer, advisor Christopher Lawrence – Cyber Operations’ Impact on International Power: An Iranian Case Analysis
Charlotte Rosenblum, advisor Jeremy Mathis – Climate Change and Mental Health Among College Students
Zina Seibert, advisor Michael Bailey – The Discursive Phenomenon of Cybersecurity: Leveraging Cyber Threat Discourse for Cybersecurity Policy
Jessica Wahl, advisor Teasel Muir-Harmony, Andrew Tarter & Sarah Johnson – Scientists’ Understanding of Ethics and Responsibility in Astrobiology: An Empirical Study
Pat Walsh, advisor Emily Mendenhall – Realizing The Right to Health During Crisis: Case Studies of European Austerity
Caption: Top row L to R: Jack Hennessey, Zachary Pulsifer, Maydha Dhanuka, Jessica Wahl. Middle row L to R: Kell Crowley, Zane Chowdhry, Zina Seibert, Pat Walsh. Bottom row L to R: Charlotte Rosenblum, Emma Morris, Brian Britt, Madison Alvarez.
STIA Graduation Reception
We were thrilled to be able to gather together on the hilltop one more time at the STIA graduation reception on May 21. Graduating STIA majors and minors joined STIA faculty and staff to share memories, take photos and pick up some new STIA swag!
