Hometown:Yorktown, VA, by way of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Batten program and graduation year: MPP 2017

Undergraduate school/major(s): UVA/Russian and Eastern European Studies

Extracurricular involvements: Undergraduate - College Council outreach chair, Wesley Foundation small group leader, Latino Student Alliance, Student Council Diversity Initiatives, outreach liaison at the International Studies Office; Graduate - co-president of Women in Policy, senior online editor for Virginia Policy Review

Talk about an involvement or experience—internship, job, volunteer position or otherwise—that’s deeply shaped you.

Just a few months into my first year at UVA, I applied for a Boren Scholarship, figuring I could use the application experience as a trial run for the next year, to study abroad my third year. That spring I received the unlikely news that I had been awarded the scholarship! Boren is a government scholarship designed to encourage in-country study of critical languages. In exchange for up to $20,000 for international language study, recipients pledge to work for the government in a field related to national security for at least a year.

During my Boren-funded study period, I lived in St. Petersburg, Russia for eight months. I approached the experience not as if I was studying abroad, but as if I was permanently moving to St. Petersburg. This mentality helped me integrate more deeply - I joined a baseball team, had an incredible internship, and made lifelong friendships. I loved living in St. Petersburg for the people’s appreciation for art and literature, and its delicate beauty, hardened by the October Revolution and the suffering of WWII’s Nazi blockade. My time there exposed me to an entire community of expats working jobs I didn’t know existed and living a life I hadn’t realized I craved. My internship introduced me to the challenges of migrant workers and minorities in Russia, as I helped their children learn Russian language and culture in order to better integrate into local society. I am now passionate about the development and inclusion of minority and vulnerable communities throughout the former Soviet Union.

I also wrote for my study abroad organization’s website as well as developing my own personal blog, which I am now working on converting to a more comprehensive website!

You recently won the Pertzoff Prize, can you tell us more about that experience?

Each year at graduation, the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature, in conjunction with the Center for Russian and East European Studies, awards the Pertzoff Prize to the 4th year student who has achieved the highest level of excellence in Russian and East European Studies. It was a very special way to end my time in the Slavic department. When I started UVA, I was a double major with foreign affairs, and there is just no comparison between the huge size of the politics department, and the small size of Slavic, where I built close relationships with my professors and was able to conduct research starting as a second year, and closing as a distinguished major and writing an undergraduate thesis. I felt incredibly supported and intellectually mentored. I felt incredibly supported and intellectually mentored by all my professors, and especially my advisor Edith Clowes.

What brought you to Batten?

Similarly to the Slavic department, I was attracted by Batten’s small size and opportunity to build relationships with professors, and have some self-direction in my studies. I was initially drawn to Batten’s MPP due to my desire to add a technical, quantitative component to my skill set. Professors really care about students developing practical, usable skills not just to pass a class, but to leave Batten with sustainable knowledge.

What kind of public servant do you think the world needs today?

I hope that in the next generation of public servants, we see not one type, but a diverse mix of people - ethnically, socioeconomically, and politically diverse. I hope to see public servants who are more interested in listening to and advocating for their constituents needs, true representation, rather than personality politics with a priority on re-election that we are currently seeing.

Talk about your life and interests outside of school.

Outside of school I enjoy challenging myself by traveling to less-touristed places. I also spend time working on my travel website, in order to add another generic drop into the endless bucket of online travel resources…

As I plan on working abroad after graduating, I also try to make sure I enjoy our local treasures while I can - hiking, kayaking, and wine tasting are among my favorite Charlottesville-area past times!

Which issues do you think the 21st-century policymaker needs to pay special attention to?

The 21st century policy maker needs to be focused not on sensationalist rhetoric but on facts and analysis. As we see continually through the challenges of Congress to pass effective legislation, policy with real impact is not that which is manipulated by interest groups, but that which takes into account interests of stakeholders alongside multi-factor analysis. I am so grateful to Batten’s curriculum for equipping me with quantitative skills, and the ability to consider a problem from multiple angles. The policy makers of tomorrow will be able to combine human needs, particularly the voices of communities often neglected, alongside objective factual reasoning.