This reflection was written by recent Korbel graduate, Adam Dettmer (MA International Development, 2026)

Standing at the top of a massive bowl filled with cement buildings, it didn’t feel like we were looking at thousands of houses in the favela (an informal, densely populated neighborhood built on the outskirts of a city in Brazil). The beautiful and lively community was exciting to see, even with armed gang members keeping watch over the area nearby. To them, Rocinha wasn't a place to explore but a community to guard from rivals. Dr. Singumbe Muyeba and I had just met with Rocinha’s Residents’ Association to confirm our research project for the following week and were exploring more of Rocinha to understand the process our data collectors would face.

When I came to the Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs in 2024, I expected a solid educational experience at a top international relations school before I kick-started a life in international development. Then, following the 2024 election, the development landscape was uprooted. Despite the purging of USAID, I found my development courses interesting, the professors engaging, and I was hopeful the development field would be revived in the next few years. In preparation for an uprooted development space, I increased the scope of my coursework by not just taking courses concentrated on financial development and economic development, but also on the humanitarian network, econometrics, and environmental tipping points.

I first met Dr. Muyeba in his Sustainable Development of Sub-Saharan Africa course in the 2025 winter quarter. My first impression of him was that he was a likeable and friendly teacher, mostly because many of my classmates had taken the travel course to Kenya with him a few weeks earlier. After a few weeks, it became clear to me that he was a development and research genius, so naturally, I became jealous of my peers who had already formed relationships with him from the travel course. Eventually, I joined an indoor soccer league with him and his friends. One night, he told me about the research he was beginning, and it sounded very interesting to me, so when he posted that he was looking for a research assistant, I applied and got it. Now I like to think of Dr. Muyeba as a mentor, boss, and friend.

In summer 2025, my first task with this project was to use AI to list all the informal settlements globally with their geolocations. Since the list was created in April 2026, we began confirming these settlements by viewing the geolocations using satellites and defining the boundaries. Once we knew where the boundaries of these settlements were, we could calculate the number of houses and multiply this by the average household size for these areas to find the total population. However, since buildings in informal settlements rarely make it clear how many houses there are, we designed a step to check our results and produce a conversion factor for our satellite results and ground truth count.

For this step, we went to Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya for 6 days during the spring quarter and trained 20 data collectors to count the number of households in the settlement. Then, before returning to Denver, we went to Azerbaijan for five days to attend the World Urban Forum 13. Here, we made connections with researchers doing work in informal settlements and community officials who would be interested in collaborating to conduct household censuses in their communities to better refine the data we are gathering using satellites. Eventually, Dr. Muyeba wants to create an open-source dashboard, publish numerous academic papers and a book displaying the findings of this project to those responsible for future global development goals and anyone who would like to use the knowledge responsibly.

After graduation, Dr. Muyeba asked me to accompany him to Brazil so we could do similar research in Rocinha. We decided, since neither of us had done research in South America, that we would need more time to guarantee the success of our study, so we stayed in Rio de Janeiro for 6 weeks. In Brazil, we visited Rocinha multiple times, met people at the Federal University of Fluminense, and had time to explore the city. I am very grateful to Korbel and Dr. Muyeba for this opportunity to work, travel, and learn in many countries during and shortly after my master’s program.

Korbel has provided me with many opportunities to gather theoretical, quantitative and qualitative research, leadership, and organizational skills through coursework, internships, student employment, international travel, and extracurricular activities. While I didn't take advantage of many networking trips or travel courses during my time, I was lucky to travel as a research assistant to Kenya, Brazil, and Azerbaijan for work, and Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Panama for long exploratory layovers. As I leave Korbel, I trust the connections I made, the knowledge I gained, and the experiences I’ve had will continue to guide me on my professional journey.

Alumnus Clayton King (Master of Public Policy, 2022) has approached his career in public policy with curiosity and intention. While both embracing new challenges and remaining steadfast in seeking opportunities to make an impact, Clayton has devoted his time to strengthening democratic institutions and closing the gap in civic participation. His commitment to a brighter future brought him to Washington, DC where he went from facing the budget cuts at USAID to becoming the founder of the Alliance for Competitive Elections, a nonprofit focused on building a multiparty democracy in the United States.

We sat down with Clayton to talk more in-depth about his experiences at Korbel, the lessons that have shaped his approach to policy and leadership, and his vision for the future of democracy.

What drew you to public policy and international affairs?

I've always been focused on the idea that politics is a way that you can change the world. I was registering voters in my hometown of Fort Collins, Colorado before ever casting a ballot myself. But after my undergrad at CSU, I realized I hadn't really explored the world yet. "I wanted to see what makes us all human regardless of where we are in the world." So, I joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in the Republic of Moldova.

I worked in a library and in the mayor's office, and it was really my first time abroad for more than a week. I just dove in. I knew it was the only chance for me. If I didn't do it then, it would never happen. It kind of changed my life. I made some friends who are family to me now, and I got a lot of really good experience.

How did you decide to come to Korbel?

COVID hit pretty quickly after I returned from the Peace Corps, so I decided it would be a good time to continue my studies. I was deciding between the University of Denver and Duke. Then I saw that Fritz Mayer was going to become Dean of Korbel after previously leading public policy at Duke. That helped make the decision for me.

Coming to Korbel also meant I could stay near home during the pandemic while working in Colorado politics to start bridging my international experience with my domestic experience. It was a really good combination of things for me. During my time at Korbel, I kept hearing, “Think global and act local.” I think I acted global more before I started bringing that back.

How did your experiences at Korbel shape the work you do today?

A big part of my time at Korbel was spent surrounded by other students who came from experienced backgrounds and were expected to do big things. Despite being in graduate school during COVID, the connections with other students were incredibly valuable. Being in a cohort with other Peace Corps volunteers and people experiencing that same period helped build that out even more.

This was also a community that I could fall back on later. You don't necessarily think about those connections as much when you're a student, but they become really important afterward. I've actually had more interaction with people in the career department, like Jamie Polliard and Rae Ann Bories-Easley, since I graduated than I did when I was a student. Those kinds of resources are really helpful when you're trying to figure out what the next steps are.

How did your Korbel coursework connect to your work in democracy promotion?

During my MPP, I became particularly interested in the relationship between democracy promotion abroad and the tools we could potentially use here in the United States. My capstone focused on U.S. democracy promotion abroad and what kinds of tools we have available to help other countries develop their democracies and improve their institutions. I looked at potential tools that could also be used domestically, tools we have the capacity to use but aren't necessarily using right now.

I also interned with the National Endowment for Democracy during my semester in Washington, D.C. That was a great experience because I got to learn more about what we do abroad and meet with people working across different country teams. It really helped drive my interest in democracy promotion and ultimately influenced my capstone.

There was an intentional gap in that work: organizations focused on democracy promotion abroad aren't designed to directly engage in U.S. politics. I started thinking about what resources and experience could potentially be brought back to domestic organizations. I didn't necessarily think at the time about the human-capital side of it—that people go work for these organizations, develop that experience, and then eventually bring it home. But that's part of the cycle I'm now part of.

What led you from international democracy promotion to founding the Alliance for Competitive Elections?

After Korbel, I worked for the International Republican Institute, doing political party development and election observation work in Eastern Europe, including Moldova, where I had served in the Peace Corps.

That job was the right job at the right time. I always knew that at some point I would leave, but I knew it wouldn't necessarily be my decision. Something would have to trigger it. When USAID cuts disrupted so much of the international development space, that became the moment for me to turn back domestically and apply everything I had learned through my MPP and my international work to building democracy here.

I was sitting in the office during the closeout process, reading The Two-Party Doom Loop by Lee Drutman under my desk and thinking about how we could develop a multiparty democracy in the United States. What tools do we already have? How do we build a system that gives people more choices? That's where ACE came in.

What is the Alliance for Competitive Elections (ACE), and what gap are you trying to address?

ACE is a nonprofit focused on building a multiparty democracy in the United States by strengthening political parties and helping develop the institutional capacity needed for a more competitive system. At the end of the day, we want to give people more choice and agency by creating more opportunities for parties and ideas to compete.

There’s a lot of work happening in electoral reform, but I think there’s a gap in how we approach it. If you implement something like ranked-choice voting or proportional representation, the existing power brokers are going to adapt to that new structure. We flip that question around and ask: Who has the most at risk? Who is most likely to benefit from these changes?

That’s where some of my Korbel learning comes in, particularly the idea of having “skin in the game.” Minor parties and independent movements have the most to gain from electoral reform because, without those reforms, they may not have a meaningful opportunity to participate or compete.

From our perspective, one of the best ways to advance electoral reform is to build the parties that will ultimately participate in those new systems. We're intentionally piloting a lot of our programming in Colorado because it's such a great policy laboratory. The United States is a great experiment, and states like Colorado can be front-runners for policy innovation and institutional change. Colorado also has places like Korbel that are willing to question the status quo and people who are willing to be uncomfortable.

How has your career prepared you to navigate a shifting job market?

When you think about your life and different periods in your life, they can feel fragmented. But if you look back, you often find connections in places and times you didn't expect. Having a graduate degree and those connections and that community to fall back on has been really helpful. I think it's important to take time to reflect on where you've been and where opportunities might exist to reconnect with those experiences. You can't necessarily predict what the next disruption is going to be. We're living through wars, famine, COVID and who knows what else. At this point, unprecedented times are almost expected. You need to be ready to be resilient.

There have been a lot of people from USAID who were cut, and Colorado is one of the largest states for people affected by those cuts. Korbel has been interacting with the Posner Center and the Tuesday Group, which has been a great resource for me. Through Korbel, I've been able to reconnect with people and meet people I had never met before who have similar backgrounds.

What advice would you give to Korbel students entering an uncertain world?

I think sometimes we look at our lives and think that each experience has to directly lead to the next one. But it doesn't always work that way. You don't know which connections are going to become important later. You don't know which experience is going to give you a skill that you eventually need.

My own career is a pretty good example. I couldn't have necessarily predicted that my experience in Moldova would eventually lead me to working on democracy in the United States. You have to be willing to be uncomfortable, too. Things are uncomfortable all the time, and you have to be ready to be uncomfortable if you're going to make change. If you're only willing to work within what's comfortable or what's already been done, it's much harder to create something new. You have to be the change that you see in the world. You have to create that vision now so that in 20 years you can live in the world that you want to see.

After nearly 40 years at the Korbel School, Professor Frank Laird is retiring, closing a chapter defined by intellectual curiosity, institutional growth, and a deep commitment to students and scholarship. 

Professor Laird’s path to Denver was anything but linear. Raised in a small industrial town in Ohio, he began his academic journey studying physics at Middlebury College before continuing to graduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Along the way, a formative year in Edinburgh and early research in astrophysics gave way to a broader set of questions about technology, society, and policy. That shift would define his career. 

“I was trying to understand how big systems change,” Professor Laird reflected. “Technology was always the through line.”  

That curiosity led him to political science and, eventually, to Korbel in 1987, where he would shape generations of students and scholars. At the time, the school was a fraction of its current size. Professor Laird recalls being one of roughly a dozen faculty members; today, that number has quadrupled. With that growth came not just scale but transformation. 

“Both the undergrad and master’s programs have grown so much,” he noted. The Korbel School now reflects a faster-paced, professionally oriented environment, one where students arrive with ambition and depart quickly to make their mark in the world. 

Throughout his tenure, Professor Laird’s early research interests on environmental policy and risk assessment evolved into historically grounded analyses of energy systems and public policy. Influenced in part by Deborah Stone’s Policy Paradox, Professor Laird developed a perspective that blended theory, history, and practice, an approach that resonated with students navigating complex global challenges. 

Beyond his own scholarship, Professor Laird played a key role in building academic communities. He was a co-founder of a section within the American Political Science Association focused on science, technology, and environmental politics, helping to connect and mentor emerging scholars across the field. 

In the classroom, Professor Laird found one of the most rewarding aspects of his career. “I remember one particular policy class,” he said. “We didn’t even get through a quarter of my notes. We got these discussions going, and we just roared ahead. The students were engaged, and they said interesting things. It was one of those moments where I thought, ‘Wow, this teaching stuff is really fun.’” 

Professor Laird also served in leadership roles, including multiple terms as associate dean. Those experiences, while challenging, offered a valuable perspective. “I learned my strengths and weaknesses,” he reflected, emphasizing how administrative work deepened his appreciation for the complexity of running an academic institution.  

As he prepares to retire, Professor Laird remains intellectually engaged. He is already working on a book manuscript on renewable energy policy and looks forward to exploring new writing projects. He envisions spending time in a local coffee shop, writing without distraction and revisiting ideas long set aside during the demands of academic life. 

His advice to emerging scholars is both timely and optimistic. In an era of disruption, particularly in fields like climate and science policy, Professor Laird sees opportunity. “It’s a challenging time,” he acknowledged, “but also a chance to rethink assumptions and build something better.”  

As the Korbel community celebrates his retirement, Professor Laird leaves behind not just a body of work, but a legacy of mentorship, curiosity, and thoughtful engagement with the world’s most pressing challenges. Korbel has been his home to develop those sides of himself, even as it has changed alongside him, too. “We shape institutions, but they also shape us,” he said. “I’ll always be really grateful for that.”

Students at Korbel often describe their community as more than just a shared academic space. It’s also a deliberate choice, a place where students arrive with intention. For Matthew Krieger (BA, International Studies, 2028), that sense of purpose is what ultimately drew them back to the classroom after years of professional and military experience. 

Matt is an undergraduate international studies major who brings a depth of experience shaped by their time in the workforce and military, perspectives that distinguish their path to Korbel from others who start their bachelor's right after undergrad. Prior to moving to Denver, Matt spent four years in the U.S. Navy, followed by several years working in cybersecurity roles across federal agencies, including positions at the Pentagon, the Senate, and the State Department. While their career offered stability, “it wasn’t something that I was ever going to be passionate about,” Krieger said.  

That realization, paired with the opportunity to use GI Bill benefits, prompted a turning point. After relocating to Colorado in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Krieger began reconsidering their future. Their longstanding interests in politics, travel, and global perspectives led them to explore programs at the University of Denver and ultimately to Korbel. “DU just made the most sense, and then I learned more about Korbel specifically, and saw how well regarded the international relations school was,” they said.  

Krieger’s decision to pursue international studies was also shaped by their desire to better understand perspectives beyond the U.S. “It’s really easy to live in a bubble,” they noted. “I started feeling that way in my old cybersecurity career, and I really want to pursue a career that helps me understand different perspectives around the world.”  

That global curiosity is grounded in lived experience. While their time in the Navy involved limited international travel, their later work and life in D.C. exposed them to foreign service professionals and global policy environments. At the same time, Krieger credits their military service, particularly time spent in the American South, with broadening their understanding of domestic perspectives often overlooked in policy conversations. 

“If our laws and policies are exclusively written by people that have never known scarcity, we’re going to leave out the needs of people that know scarcity,” they said.  

At Korbel, Krieger has found a community that encourages exactly this kind of reflection. While they acknowledge that the broader university culture can mirror that of other predominantly affluent institutions, they see Korbel as distinct. “Korbel does feel like a group of people that aspire to be more introspective,” they said. “People here tend to want to understand the way things work… and the real-life implications of the systems we operate in.”  

That intentionality is what sets the school apart. “I don’t think people just find themselves in a place like Korbel. I think it is chosen,” Krieger added.  

For Krieger, community at Korbel isn’t defined by clubs or traditional undergraduate social life, but by meaningful classroom conversations and shared purpose. As someone returning to school after years of professional experience, they initially worried about standing out, but quickly realized those concerns were largely internal. “No one cares,” they said. “You may be acutely aware of what makes your journey different, but that just helps you in the long run.”  

Instead, their age and experience have become assets. Krieger feels more confident engaging with professors and contributing to discussions in a candid, informed way. “I’ve had a career. I’ve lived life, but I still recognize I have so much to learn,” they said.  

Looking ahead, Krieger plans to focus on global health and hopes to continue into a master’s program through Korbel’s JumpStart program. Their interests lie in understanding systemic health challenges in developing nations, though they remain critical of traditional international development frameworks. “There’s a lot of neo-colonialism there that needs to be broken down,” they said.  

Even as they describe themselves as “still new” to the Korbel space, Krieger points to alumni as a powerful reflection of the school’s impact. “An incredible example of the quality of a program is how alumni speak of it,” they said.  

For Krieger, that enthusiasm is contagious and reinforces their decision to be part of a community that values curiosity, perspective, and purpose. 

Learn more about what our undergraduate programs can offer here.

For Braxton Fuller (MA, International Studies, 2026), one of the defining moments of his graduate school journey took place far beyond Denver. In his first year, he traveled into the heart of Peru’s Amazon rainforest, working alongside Indigenous communities and international researchers in one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. 

The experience was part of an internship with the Tree Foundation, a research nonprofit operating in Maijuna territory. Braxton found the lead through the Explorer’s Club, a national organization of scientists and adventurers with whom he’d worked as a speleologist and editor of a cave science publication. After finding the lead, he turned to Korbel’s Office of Career and Professional Development (OCPD) to help prepare his application materials. “OCPD is extremely helpful in everything they do,” Braxton said. “Jamie and Rae Ann are so encouraging and make things possible.” 

Braxton ended up talking to Meg Lowman, the CEO and Founder of the Tree Foundation. She was going to the Amazon for work, and she offered Braxton the internship. Amongst his list of options, his reaction was immediate: “That one.” 

Life and Work in the Amazon 

Within weeks, Braxton found himself traveling upriver by boat from the city of Iquitos. “We sailed for four days,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. We were in a boat in the middle of the Amazon.” 

The Tree Foundation operates in Maijuna territory, a region slightly larger than New Jersey and home to about 500 people across four settlements. The organization conducts canopy research while coordinating closely with local communities, medical teams, and eco-tourism organizations. 

A major initiative of the Tree Foundation is to aid Indigenous people as they navigate increased traffic on the Amazon, a side effect of the Iquitos-El Estrecho Highway’s construction and it ecological impacts. Braxton’s efforts to aid that mission were different every day: helping transport supplies, setting up blood drives, and mapping canopy walkways the Maijuna tribe uses in the forest are just a few examples. From fishing with local families and navigating language barriers, each day required adaptability.

“One of the most gratifying things happened with one family whose home I was staying at,” Braxton said. “They lived in an outdoor hut, and when it rained in the middle of the night, I woke up with the family. I helped them harvest a root for cooking, and once I was done, I noticed one of their boats was filled with rainwater. I discreetly bailed out the water so they could go into town later that day before they could stop me. It was a really gratifying moment. They paid me the kindness of letting a random guy stay in their house, and I paid them the small favor of getting them food and taking care of their boat.” 

Experiences like these reinforced a key lesson Braxton will carry into his career: the importance of building genuine relationships. 

Lessons in Leadership and Connection 

Through his day-to-day, Braxton met humanitarian leaders from around the world. “There’s a Peruvian version of the Red Cross that we worked with to help set up the blood drives,” he said. “There are the other medical teams and the eco-tourism groups, too. There was one intern, like me, who was traveling from Duke, and we worked together a lot.” 

These connections required Braxton to develop a new set of communication skills. “Caving prepared me for uncomfortable scenarios already,” Braxton said. “When you’re underground, it can get really cold and wet, and maybe you’re light on sleep. In that sort of state, a joke can really bring people together. But that’s not always appropriate when you’re working across cultures and language barriers.”

Meg taught him a different approach, but one that still built on his strengths. “I’m naturally good at being cheery and cooperative when things are hard. If you can make somebody laugh, you can make somebody feel that you’re having a genuine conversation with them, then you’ve done most of the work. Meg helped me tailor that for the international, humanitarian work we were doing together.” 

Carrying the Amazon’s Lessons into a Global Career 

Now nearing graduation, Braxton is exploring the next steps that build on his interests in communication, fieldwork, and global service. While his path may not be linear, his time in the Amazon has already shaped how he approaches both challenges and opportunities. 

And, of course, it delivered on a lifelong expectation. 

“I guess my whole life I have thought one day I’d see the Amazon,” he said. “But actually sticking my hand in the Amazon River was pretty crazy.” 

To learn more about the Maijuna People and humanitarian interventions, read Braxton’s article with the Tree Foundation here.

In Instructor Carla Canales’ Cultural Diplomacy class, students don’t just study diplomacy. They practice it.

Students learn about diplomacy from a world-renowned practitioner and create program proposals with budgets and full implementation plans. They leave not only with an understanding of the field but also a project portfolio, connections, and the confidence to start careers in diplomacy.

The course is offered through the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy’s Cultural Diplomacy Initiative, funded by a gift from the Bonfils Stanton Foundation. It is an intensive, 8-to-10 day class in the middle of the Spring Quarter, open to current Korbel students and influential community members. Together, Instructor Canales packages theory, practice, and networking into one experience.

A Practitioner’s Perspective

To kick off her course, Instructor Canales pulls from her wealth of experience doing cultural diplomacy programming for 20 years. She was initially trained as a classical opera singer, and her passion for entrepreneurship eventually led her to work as an arts envoy for the State Department. She served the Biden Administration at the National Endowment for the Arts and later at the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, as Senior Advisor and Envoy for Cultural Exchange. Through collaboration with the Biden-Harris White House and other institutions, she promoted the arts and humanities as bridges to foster dialogue, connection, empathy, and change-making.

“There are three key components to the class,” Instructor Canales shared. “The first pillar is looking at definitions, looking at the theoretical. Let’s define culture.”

She goes on to explain how essential this is for diplomats. “When a politician or diplomat gets in front of a group, the audience senses that the speaker wants something. When an artist gets in front of a group, we expect them to give us something. They’re going to share a piece of their heart. The superpower of this class, and of cultural diplomacy, is learning how to make those work together.”

For the second pillar, students look at case studies, analyze historical and global examples of cultural diplomacy, and explore successful programs and lessons learned. This middle component helps put cultural programs in context, which is an important prerequisite for understanding diplomacy’s modern landscape.

“The third pillar,” Instructor Canales said, “is to look at current events and the future. Let’s look at modern technology, like AI, which is such a game-changer. Let’s understand the global ecosystem. Then, we can learn how to intervene and make a meaningful difference.”

Creating Programs in Community

The small, collaborative nature of the course is intentional. In past quarters, Instructor Canales has opened it to the public, allowing students to work directly with community members already well into their careers.

“Last year, we had high-level local art leaders,” Instructor Canales said. “These are people whom I consider my peers. They audit the class, and students get to work alongside them. That’s a huge networking opportunity.”

Instead of a final paper or an exam, students create a cultural diplomacy program in groups with industry leaders. “They’re given a very specific simulation,” Instructor Canales said. “That simulation includes a challenge in the real world that they can help solve. My goal is for every student’s solution to be an actionable program. They work with their group and make a PowerPoint with a spreadsheet, a budget, and projects that could be put into place and implemented the next day.”

The exercise pushes students to think beyond theory and toward real-world solutions they can carry into their careers, without sacrificing understanding of theory. “Denver is the perfect place for this sort of work,” Instructor Canales shared. “I spend a lot of time going back and forth between Cambridge and D.C., but it’s critical for folks in the Beltway to still have their ears to the ground with what’s going on in other parts of the country. Korbel gives you that distance and perspective, and I look forward to teaching here every year.”

Rethinking Culture’s Role in Global Affairs

For students interested in diplomacy, international development, or global cultural exchange, the course offers a rare chance to test ideas in a practical setting while learning from seasoned professionals.

Instructor Canales hopes students leave with the confidence to act. “If you're looking to learn how to do this work in under a week, this is the course for you,” she said. “You'll come away with a full understanding of how to do cultural diplomacy.”

Read more about Instructor Carla Canales’ career here, and dive more into the Sié Center’s programming here.

As an undergraduate student, declaring a major is not always easy. Narrowing down career aspirations into one subject matter can feel overwhelming without the proper support. It’s no surprise that many students start college undeclared. 

Lila Ash, a current sophomore and double major in International Studies and Criminology, was one of these students. She moved from Philadelphia and started college without declaring a major, but over the course of her first year, she took advantage of the Korbel School’s diverse class roster and flexibility to craft her ideal degree program. 

Lila recently shared her journey from undecided to double major who studies abroad, hoping to help other students who are just starting their degrees.

Q: What makes DU stand out to prospective students from all around the U.S.? 

Lila: Mountains. Nature. Access to the outdoors. I love Philly, but there wasn’t anything similar back home. DU’s study abroad program appealed to me, too, so all of the above made it a really easy decision to move out here. 

Q: As an undeclared student, what career or subject matter interests did you come to DU with? 

Lila: I always knew I wanted to go to college because a lot of the jobs I was interested in required a bachelor’s degree. Criminology has always been an interest of mine, so I looked at schools with criminology programs. I waited to declare a major, though, because I wasn’t 100% positive that was my only path. I’ve also always been interested in politics and sociology. I’m curious how people interact with each other and with systems, especially with global politics. 

Q: When did you first hear about the Korbel School and International Studies? 

Lila: I was looking at the class roster to register and saw a Global Politics course at Korbel. I was already interested in politics and global affairs, so it was the perfect class for me. I had a really great professor, and the class was amazing. I realized I have a genuine interest in this, and from there, I started learning more about Korbel and its programs.

 

Q: Who at Korbel would you recommend speaking to about the undergraduate program? 

Lila: Professor Keith Gehring. It wasn’t until my first Spring Quarter that I declared my major in International Studies, and that was because of him. He's a fantastic professor and a great instructor, and he really pushed me to make that final step. He helped me realize just how valuable an experience at Korbel could be. 

Q: What would you say is something most people don’t realize about International Studies at Korbel? 

Lila: It's a lot more flexible than a lot of people think. A lot of people at Korbel have a very specific goal, and it's easy to feel intimidated. There are people ready to go to law school or to go into government work, but those aren’t the only paths.  The degree is a lot more flexible. You can make it your own. Personally, I don't want to work for the government or become a foreign services officer, but the classes are still very relevant and interesting. It’s very easy to see how they’ll help my career, even if I don’t have my path 100% figured out yet. I think my experience is pretty common here, too. 

Q: What’s the culture and community like at Korbel? 

Lila: There are lots of driven, dedicated people here, especially since there are lots of people here who have a specific career goal in mind. Other students help me stay on track and keep in mind why I'm doing this. It's a really great support system. Everybody's motivating themselves to be the best and most involved students they can be. 

Q: How have your career aspirations shifted since starting at Korbel? 

Lila: I’m still very interested in Criminology and Global Politics, so seeing how those two things overlap has been really helpful. After starting in International Studies, I looked back on my interests and realized that I was always interested in extremist behavior. Korbel helped me realize I want to pursue a career in counter-extremism through a non-profit or non-government agency. 

Q: How difficult is it to balance International Studies with another major? 

Lila: Thankfully, there are lots of programs here that complement the International Studies degree. Criminology is one of them, as it’s sort of designed to be a double major. With the support of Korbel and different advisors in my programs, you really have all the support you need. 

Q: How readily available have you found study abroad opportunities at Korbel? 

Lila: That was one of my main draws. They’re everywhere. This past Winter Interterm, I was in the Balkans: Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia. We met with a lot of important figures and officials within those countries. There were some great reporters we met in Serbia who were discussing their work. We met with a bunch of different ambassadors and former ambassadors, as well as a representative at the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia. I met and learned from a lot of really important figures. If I’d gone to school anywhere else, I think I would’ve missed out. It feels unique to Korbel and its connections. Professor Gehring led that trip, and he made the whole experience possible. I’m already planning on more study abroad trips, I’m just not sure which ones yet. 

Q: What would you say to someone who is undeclared and thinking about a Korbel degree? 

Lila: If you have any kind of interest in politics or policy, whether domestic or on a grater scale, there is a place for you here. There's so much you can do with it. You have the five different concentrations, and there's a ton of different electives and courses. A lot of them can focus on global affairs or particular topics, like this terrorism class I’m taking right now that is super fascinating. As someone interested in counter-extremism, there's a wide range and a lot of depth to the major. Even though you may feel intimidated by the people who get all these fellowships and already know their careers, it doesn’t feel overwhelming or exclusionary once you’re here. There is a place for everybody in this major.

 

The Korbel School offers two undergraduate majors and minors, International Studies and Public Policy, designed to give students the flexibility, global perspective, and hands-on experience to start impactful careers. With customizable concentrations, immersive study abroad opportunities, and close faculty mentorship, Korbel empowers students to shape a degree that aligns with their goals, even if those goals are still evolving. 

Learn more about our degrees, concentrations, and certificates here, and contact our admissions team at [email protected] with any questions. Curious what a Korbel study abroad experience really looks like? Read one student’s firsthand perspective on the Balkans trip and see how learning extends far beyond the classroom.

Korbel's annual Discover Korbel is our Admitted Students Day for graduate students. Chat 1:1 with faculty, current students, and alumni, learn about our programs, and network with other admitted students ahead of your start date.

Learn more about Discover Korbel by contacting the Admissions team at [email protected].

Students, faculty, and staff are all invited to compete for prizes! Bring your team of 5-6 or form a team when you arrive. Show off your trivia knowledge and win some prizes!

Food and drinks provided.

This reflection was written by Maddison Schink (MA, International Studies, 2027).

Over the University of Denver’s unique winter interterm, I spent nearly two weeks with Dr. Tamra Pearson d’Estree, a Korbel professor of conflict resolution, and a group of my peers in the Netherlands for a course on climate resilience and governance. 

Our group represented both first- and second-year students across Korbel’s graduate programs, from Global Environmental Sustainability to International Security and Global Economic Affairs, so a diversity of perspectives emerged and fostered deep questions during our site visits and rich conversations on the bus or over lunch. I am pursuing an M.A. in International Studies with a specialization in Environmental Conflict Resolution, so the part of the course that I found most interesting was visiting the House of Representatives and hearing about the Dutch polder model of governance, which is consensus-based and founded on ensuring that every party has a say in shaping the final decision. Considering the Netherlands’ long history of collectively contending with water, we realized the potential to draw upon their expertise to develop solutions to the international community’s growing challenges in the face of climate change. 

For context, two of the Netherlands' top priorities are managing rising sea levels and shifting weather patterns that can result in inundation or drought. The country is a delta with many rivers, and much of the nation is below sea level. To help mitigate the dangers, the Netherlands has been engaging in centuries of land reclamation by using iconic windmills, which are now largely modern electric pumping stations that drain water and create arable plots of land called polders. Today, polders comprise around 20% of the country’s landmass.

Throughout our travels, we repeatedly heard a phrase that summarizes the Dutch pride in their transformation efforts – God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands. Without the Dutch people’s ongoing commitment to collaboration through the formation and cooperation of democratic regional water boards around the year 1200, the building of their nation would not have been possible.  

Professor d’Estree arranged for us to visit four different cities throughout the country: Amsterdam, The Hague, Delft, and Groningen. Each location presented us with an opportunity to see firsthand the variety of old and new technologies that the Dutch are adapting — from dikes to giant moving storm surge barriers — to keep themselves safe from flooding. However, as leaders in engineering and spatial planning shared with us, infrastructure alone is not enough to keep everyone’s feet dry. The Dutch meaningfully involve the public in building community resilience and co-creating policies that will more equitably serve the Dutch people across rural and urban landscapes.

In between lectures from local university professors and private tours to learn about the design and implementation of climate adaptation strategies, we enjoyed several festive Christmas markets, group coffee breaks to fuel us through lingering jet lag and writing our assigned journal reflections, scenic public transit adventures (I only nearly missed our train stop once!), and Dutch cuisine served on beautiful white and blue Royal Delft pottery at a traditional brown café.  

We ended our time in the Netherlands reflecting on how we might carry what we learned into our continued studies at Korbel and our future careers. Growing up in Colorado and working at a nonprofit dedicated to convening diverse stakeholders around controversial environmental issues has shaped how I approach questions of governance and collaboration. In my final course paper, I am inspired to explore how elements of the Netherlands’ consensus-based approach to water governance, along with its emphasis on public engagement and education, might translate to an issue close to home: the complex and increasingly urgent renegotiation of the Colorado River Compact. Ultimately, this international travel course fulfilled its purpose by challenging Korbel students to think beyond borders and imagine new ways to address some of the most pressing global challenges, including climate change.