Melissa Alvisi
Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs
CLASS YEAR: 2024
DISCIPLINE: Master’s in Public Administration and International Relations
Melissa Alvisi is pursuing a dual Master’s degree in Public Administration and International Relations at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She recently completed an internship with the U.S. Department of Commerce in Singapore, working on Foreign Direct Investment promotion efforts. She possesses a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies at the State University of New York (SUNY) College at Cortland, where she minored in Economics and Political Science. As a student, Melissa is highly involved on campus, serving as the Comptroller for the Syracuse University Graduation Student Organization. As an undergraduate student, she was a member of the Public Relations and Finance Committees of the SUNY Cortland Student Government Association (SGA). She also was elected to serve as SGA Chief Financial Officer, a position in which she oversaw a $1.4 million budget and allocated funding towards various student-run clubs on campus. Melissa also served as a voting delegate at the State University of New York’s Student Assembly in Albany, NY. In addition, Melissa worked for her college’s International Programs Office as an orientation assistant for international students and was an undergraduate research fellow for the Economics Department, conducting research on Latin American countries and the European Union and presenting her findings at Scripps College in CA.
Melissa has broadened her international experiences, as she studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain, advancing her fluency in Spanish, and served as a delegate for the SUNY Model European Union for three consecutive years in Brussels, Belgium. Her interest in becoming a liaison between the United States and foreign countries and assisting in diplomatic decision-making processes has come not only from her study abroad experiences, but also from a mission trip to El Salvador and her experience as a Chief Financial Officer.