Academic Expirience

American Univeristy School for International Service, Washington D.C.

Masters in U.S. Foreign Policy

• Currently pursuing
  

May 2007 Hamline University, St. Paul, MN
Bachelors of Arts in Political Science, Certificate of Proficiency in Spanish

• Graduated Summa Cum Laude. Deans List, accelerated graduate, 3.9 GPA, Hamline University Honor’s Scholarship, Hamline University Political Science Scholarship

July 2007 Oxford Seminars, St Paul. MN
TESOL/TESL Certification

January 2006 HECUA
Spanish Immersion/Social and Political Transformation - Quito, Ecuador

HECUA is an organization of 18 liberal arts colleges, universities and associations dedicated to education for social justice. Together they shape academically rigorous, study-abroad and off-campus study programs that address the most pressing issues in our neighborhoods, nations and world. This unique educational collaboration engages students, faculty and practitioners in learning that generates knowledge and tools for social transformation and community building.

This course explored socioeconomic issues in Ecuador as manifested in the country’s growing inequality and the proliferation of new social movements to address this crisis. Particular emphasis was placed on indigenous rights, gender equality, the protection and management of natural resources, and Ecuador’s new constitution. We compared and contrasted the Ecuadorian experience with developments in other parts of Latin America.

Ecuador is an ideal setting for this kind of inquiry, presenting a complex scenario of social and economic phenomena. What’s more, a mix of indigenous and European cultural and political institutions, as well as a division between a growing leftist movement and a historically conservative middle and upper class, makes it a microcosm of the wider Andean region. Students gain a firsthand perspective on these dynamics with field work and NGO site visits in and around the beautiful capital city of Quito and in more distant rural communities.

2006 UMAIE - Study Abroad Eastern Europe
Comparative Politics of the New Europe

Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania have historically been pulled between east and west. The course provided a framework for understanding this tension. Local speakers and their personal stories were called upon to illustrate the daily consequences of this historic phenomenon. The course utilized local spaces and places (i.e. markets, churches, theatres, town squares, offices of local advocacy organizations, etc.) to illustrate the complexities of this historic period.
This course satisfied a 300-level Political Science requirement.

2009 Normandale Community College
Continuing Education Arabic 1

• Normandale's Adult Education Classes are aimed towards working adults trying to expand their horizons. Arabic 1 focused on written, spoken and cultural aspects of Arabic.
  

2007 Alliance Francaise
Level 1 Foundation French

• Alliance Francaise is an immersion style school with all native French Speakers.  I completed the Level 1 Foundation course