Korbel ranked 12th best place in the world to earn a master’s degree in international relations.
Korbel ranked 20th in the world for the best undergraduate degree in international studies.
Graduates from the Sié Fellows program have gone on to work at international organizations, world governments, and to pursue academic careers. They apply the skills, experiences, and networks they develop during their time at the Korbel School to make a difference in their communities and across the globe.
Anushka is an MA candidate in International Security at Korbel, and she recently graduated from Purdue University, where she studied Political Science with a concentration in International Relations, along with minors in Sociology and Communications. As an Indian national who grew up in an American compound in Saudi Arabia, Anushka was immersed in a uniquely international environment that shaped her interest in global affairs. Her upbringing continues to inform her academic focus on international security. She is excited to join the Sie Center at the Korbel School of International Studies and be surrounded by the stunning backdrop of the Colorado Rockies. In her free time, she enjoys playing the piano, photography, and tennis.
Giulia is excited to join Korbel as an MA candidate in International Development with a certificate of Global Health Affairs. She was born in Italy and grew up outside of Chicago prior to moving to Montreal, Canada to complete her Bachelor's in International Development Studies at McGill University. After her undergraduate studies, she moved to Boston, where she served as an AmeriCorps volunteer at a literacy non-profit. She then taught World History and ELA at charter schools in Boston, while also completing a Master's in Teaching. Giulia is a recently returned Peace Corps Rwanda volunteer (2016-2018). During her Peace Corps service, she taught English to secondary students and worked on public health projects related to malaria and sexual and reproductive health. After her Peace Corps service, Giulia worked at Guild Education at a Student Success Advisor. She is also a co-founder of The Now Exchange, a women's health organization aimed at increasing access to reproductive health services and knowledge for women working in the Read-Made Garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh.
Born and raised in Idaho, Zach earned degrees in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Idaho in 2018. An avid researcher and reader, he has dedicated most of his research to the role of religion in human rights, revolution, and international relations. Specifically, Zach focused on the human rights violations perpetuated by apostasy and blasphemy laws as well as the consequences those laws inflict on the lives of apostates. Zach continued this research as a Mount Vernon Leadership Fellow at the Library of Congress, as a Rangel Scholar at Howard University, as an undergraduate student studying abroad in Israel, and as a presenter at the Wheatley Conference for Religion and World Affairs. At Korbel, he plans to continue studying the nexus of religion and human rights by pursuing an MA in International Studies with a certificate in Religion and International Affairs. Zach also enjoys movie marathons, pub trivia, and eSports.
Originally from Overland Park, Kansas, Daniel is an MA student in Global Finance, Trade, and Economic Integration. In 2019 he earned a bachelor's in economics and international studies with a minor in mathematics from the University of Denver. As an undergraduate, Daniel conducted research on human-wildlife conflict mitigation in Kenya and wrote his thesis on the implications of the 2008 financial crisis for U.S. immigrants' remittance. Additional experiences include work in peer education for gender-based violence prevention and an internship with U.S. Senator Michael Bennet's Denver office. Daniel eventually hopes to produce research that improves development policy through a career in academia.
Originally from rural Western New York, Savannah graduated from American University in 2016 with a BA in International Studies. As an undergraduate, she completed internships with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the U.S. Department of State's Office of International Religious Freedom, and Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26). She also studied abroad at Peking University in Beijing, China. Following graduation, she started working at the U.S. Department of State's Foreign Service Institute. Savannah primarily planned cultural events, created and implemented administrative policies, designed a communications plan, and coded qualitative data. She also learned more about the conduct of American diplomacy and hopes to join the U.S. Foreign Service. Savannah is pursuing an MA in International Studies at Korbel and enjoys reading, traveling, and graphic design.
Deema obtained her MA in International Development and centered her research on gender and development, with a primary focus on the Middle East. Originally from the Kingdom of Bahrain, Deema completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, where she majored in Finance and Commercial Law. She then returned home and pursued a career in research and management consulting for several prominent governmental organizations. Through this work, she familiarized herself with local development programs targeting women, students, farmers, and other segments of Bahraini society, and took an interest in international development. In line with her passion for women's rights, she also held a volunteer position as a crisis advocate for Women's Crisis Care International, where she provided advocacy services for victims of domestic and sexual abuse in Bahrain. Deema has been granted the Fulbright scholarship to study at the Josef Korbel School.
Bilen obtained her MA in Global Finance, Trade, and Economic Integration. She is from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Bilen holds degrees in Economics from Addis Ababa University. She was involved in various research projects when she was working at the Ethiopian Development Research Institute. Her academic research interests include political economy, development in sub-Saharan Africa, economic integration and socio-economic policies in developing countries. She enjoys taking long walks and reading in her spare time.
As a Fulbright scholar and Sié Fellow, Hyshyama graduated with an MA in International Human Rights. Hyshyama is currently the Coordinator for the global Campaign for Justice in Muslim Family Laws led by Musawah. She works closely with activists and groups from various Muslim majority and minority contexts, as well as UN experts engaged with human rights treaty mechanisms such as CEDAW, in advocating for egalitarian laws, procedures and practices in marriage and family matters. Her work also involves mapping of Muslim personal status laws and movements in family law reform globally, including researching trends and positive legislative developments.
Hyshyama is also an activist pushing for reform of the discriminatory Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) in her home country Sri Lanka, where she co-founded the advocacy group Muslim Personal Law Reform Action Group (MPLRAG), currently at the forefront of the Muslim women's movement in the country.
Jennifer Williams is a research assistant at the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. Her recent publications include " ISIS vs. Al Qaeda: Jihadism’s global civil war," co-authored with Daniel Byman. She previously interned in the office of Colorado State Representative Jeanne Labuda and worked as a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She received her BA in international studies from the University of North Texas and her MA in international security from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies.
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