Hometown: York, PA

Education: Haverford College: B.A. in Political Science and French and Francophone Studies, Minor in Data Science

Academic & Research Interests: Global governance, international institutions, political legitimacy, and nationalism and ethnic-religious politics. My Haverford thesis explored religious politics in the post-colonial world, exploring how states in Africa and the Middle East navigate tensions between secularism and religious identities. The thesis considers state the desires for internal and external legitimacy – as well as developmental constraints – that influence decisions to incorporate or reject secularism in institutions and governance.

Work Experience: I have interned for the US Department of State across three offices: first, as a data visualization intern for the Office of American Spaces; second, as a data intern in the Bureau of Administration, where I developed the bureau's AI strategy; and most recently, I researched human rights violations under the Office of International Religious Freedom. I have also worked as a student research in the Haverford College Library and Department of French and Francophone Studies. While studying abroad in Germany, I volunteered with Inside America to give social studies lectures at local schools.

Why I chose MAGES: I chose MAGES to continue pursuing my interests in European governance and culture, particularly in the context of the European Union. The EU represents one of the largest and most ambitious supranational institutions, and I want to use it as a framework for exploring international and regional institutions/alliances globally (NATO, African Union, ECOWAS, GCC, etc). I am also passionate about continuing my studies of Francophone politics, an interest that extends into the politics and culture of West Africa and other French-speaking countries/regions.