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Education Program Alumni News

Volume 2, Issue 1

The Education Program of the World Affairs Council seeks to inform, educate and inspire the next generation of

global leaders. For over 60 years, the Education Program has provided students with a variety of opportunities and

resources to broaden their knowledge of international affairs. These students are a treasured part of the Council

community.

Vice President’s Note

The World Affairs Council is committed to

building connections in our community. Every

year I am struck by those moments when our

students get a unique insight or make a personal

connection with a guest speaker — David

Folkenflick from NPR, or Christiana Figueres

from the United Nations, for example.

These opportunities now extend beyond the

Council itself as we reach directly into Bay Area

schools. Students cannot always come to our

offices downtown, so we are now working on

ways to bring the international community to the

classroom. During the 2013-2014 academic year,

the Education Program worked with the San

Francisco consular corps to set up four school

visits. This year, representatives from Brazil,

Sweden, Chile and Mexico spent time in Bay Area

classrooms discussing issues such as health care,

economic development and trade relations.

These diplomats are gaining as much as they give

— if not more — in these exchanges.

I am proud to be a part of this community and

look forward to building more bridges for our

future global leaders in the coming year.

Carla Thorson

Senior Vice President, Programs

2013-2014 in a Glance

During the last school year, the World Affairs

Council Education Program …

WorldAffairs 2014

43 students representing 27 schools were awarded

scholarships to participate in this year’s policy

simulation and conference “Enhance Your Global

View.” Participants started off the event by engaging

in a student-led policy simulation to solve the Syrian

Refugee Crisis. Delegates represented key

stakeholders involved in the conflict including the

Syrian National Coalition, the United Nations, the

government of Lebanon, the Jordanian government,

the Turkish government, the refugees themselves

and the Assad regime. Representing opposing

viewpoints delegates were keen to use their

diplomacy skills in order to efficiently and patiently

negotiate a resolution. Please watch our short video

to hear from the students themselves about the

policy simulation.

Worked with 352

students &

teachers

Partnered with 66

different schools

Published 12

posts by student

journalists

Connected

students with

20+ mentors

Saw 40 students

graduate high

school & college

Provided

$35,000+ in

scholarships

World Affairs continued from page 1

During the conference, scholars had the opportunity to engage with speakers, network with other

attendees and attend all of the sessions. A particular highlight for them was the keynote discussion on

the “Complex Dynamics of the New World Economy” with New York Times columnist Thomas

Friedman and World Affairs Council CEO Jane Wales. Many were familiar with Friedman’s work and

thrilled to hear his thoughts on today’s economy.

2013-2014 Student Ambassador Program

Throughout the school year, the Council’s Student Ambassadors participated in internationally focused

discussions, recruited peers to engage with the Council and honed their leadership, project

management and facilitation skills. In February, the students took part in a video conference with Al

Azhar Sr. Islamic High School in Jakarta, Indonesia. During the video conference both groups of young

adults discussed issues of religion, community and education as well as just what it is like to be a

teenager.

Student Ambassadors also worked together in Global Issue Groups to take action on a problem of

international importance through community action, fundraising and service. Topics for this year’s

projects include the Syrian refugee crisis, reforestation in China, literacy in Africa, cultural awareness

and food and water in Haiti. In order to engage with these issues, the groups decided to contribute to

organizations such as Books for Africa, Middle Eastern Children’s Alliance, Face to Faith and Roots and

Shoots. These young leaders initiated book drives, crowd rises and fund raisers in collaboration with

local businesses in order to generate resources to donate in support of these causes. On April 24, the

Education Program celebrated the accomplishments of our 21 Student Ambassadors with their friends

and family at our annual Global Issues Fair.

WordAffairs 2014 Scholars and staff

Class Notes

Here is a glimpse at what Education Program alumni are up to:

Jodi Chan (2010) is the Foundation and Corporate Relations Associate at Plan International USA. Plan is a

child-focused international development NGO that works in 50 countries across the Americas, Asia and

Africa.

Katie Joh (2010) is graduating from Wellesley College in May with a major in international relations (political

science concentration) and a minor in education studies. This fall, she will attend the University of Michigan

Law School in Ann Arbor, MI.

Caitlin Kawaguchi (2011) is studying abroad this semester at the University of Kwazulu-Natal in Durban,

South Africa. She is an intern in the Refugee and Migrant Rights Program at Lawyers for Human Rights and

volunteer with the BRICS from Below program at the Center for Civil Society.

Katie Koerper (2011) is studying abroad for the year in Lyon, France at the Institute of Political Studies. She

previously interned for the social media and communications department of the San Francisco human rights

and environmental organization, Global Exchange. Upon her return to the US, she will complete her final year

at UCSB and graduate in the spring with a double major in communication and global studies and a minor in

French.

Callie Cowdery (2012) is studying Arabic and international relations at the University of St. Andrews in

Scotland. This summer she will be working in San Francisco as an intern at The Center for Gender and

Refugee Studies.

Julia Langewis (2012) is studying abroad in London through New York University and completed a short

host stay on Alderney, one of the Channel Islands. In the fall she will return to New York to continue her

tutoring work with the Mexican American Student Alliance.

Seward Lee (2012) is an analyst at Quant Economics, Inc. in San Diego. He uses statistical methods to

calculate damages for corporate clients involved in high-stakes intellectual property litigation.

Emilie Robert Wong (2012) is studying neuroscience and linguistics during her freshman year at Harvard

where she is a member of the editorial teams of The Crimson and International Review. Emilie spoke this

spring at the MacArthur Foundation's Digital Media Learning conference on connected learning and re-

imagining the library as a digital learning lab and the hub of a learning network.

Rachel Siegman (2012) is a rising junior at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. She just finished a

year abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina where she immersed herself in the people, culture, language and

dance of the city and trekked through Patagonia, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay and Ecuador. This summer she will be

in Spain to complete the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. In the fall she is excited to return to the Pepperdine

Model United Nations team, Sunday school teaching, her sorority and education major courses.

Camilo Vilaseca (2012) is currently a sophomore at Claremont McKenna College. He is headed to Havana,

Cuba for the fall semester next year and writes for the Keck Journal on Foreign Affairs.

Wentao Xu (2012) is a sophomore studying applied math at Harvard. This semester, he is taking a class on

water policy under Professor Briscoe, a former World Bank country director for Brazil. In the upcoming

summer, he will be spending time in Japan for an internship and hosting a seminar for high students.

Daniel Vainish (2013) continues his involvement at Tulane University as an active member of the World

Affairs Council of New Orleans. He chairs an Israeli culture group on campus and plans on interning in the

Middle East this fall with a focus on civil rights.

Sofia Vala (2013) is currently serving as President of the Amnesty International group at American

University. She is also a member of the traveling Model UN team, and serves as a moderator for the

women's empowerment group of Lean In. This summer she has plans to study at the London School of

Economics.

Marc Robert Wong (2014) is studying for the French Baccalaureate and creating an interactive

community for teens to innovate, collaborate, and create through his organization TeenTechSF. He will be

traveling to Spain in May as a speaker at the global French educational conference on integrating technology

and education. This summer he is interning at UCSF's Gazzaley Lab working on designing video games to

increase cognitive abilities.

Alex Sahai (2014) is a sophomore at Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco. He co-founded the

Social Entrepreneurship Club and has been a member of student council for the past two years. Outside of

school he cofounded Planet of the Kids, an interactive resource and global forum for teenagers interested in

entrepreneurship and innovation to connect, share and thrive.

If you would like to be featured in the next alumni newsletter, please submit your

update to education@worldaffairs.org.

Alumni Reunion 2014

Don’t miss out on this year’s alumni gathering! Join

current Council student, staff and supporters at

this annual tradition to meet new friends and catch

up with old ones. This year’s alumni speaker will

be entrepreneur, writer and co-author of “The

Start Up of You” Ben Casnocha (2006).

Date: Thursday, August 7

Time: 6:30-8:00 PM

Location: World Affairs Council Auditorium

RSVP: worldaffairs.org/events/event/1324

Featured Media

The World Affairs Council is eager to

encapsulate the value of our Education Program

and spread the word to prospective students

and supporters. Please take a moment to view

our latest piece about International Career

Mentor Night.