JaKyah Beatty

University of Maryland, School of Public Policy

CLASS YEAR: 2024

JaKyah Beatty is currently pursuing a Master of Public Policy degree at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy. In her degree program, she specializes in International Development and Environmental Policy. She recently returned from completing a Boren Fellowship in Tanzania, where she studied Swahili.

Earlier in her career, JaKyah graduated from Kent State University with a B.S in Fashion Merchandising where she discovered her passion for international development and public policy. After taking classes centered around sustainability and ethics in the fashion industry – from organic cotton farming in India to sweatshops and labor ethics in garment factories in other developing countries, she became deeply inspired to conduct research on outsourcing influences. Upon graduation, she worked for a social enterprise in Gulu, Uganda that employed Ugandan women and aided in economic development. While there, she also partnered with two local men and helped to initiate a community organization that provides education, mental health resources, and economic empowerment to local women who worked in prostitution.

Her experiences in Uganda pushed her to join The Peace Corps, where she served as a Community Youth Empowerment Volunteer in Fiji from 2019 until COVID-19 ended the organization’s operations in 2020. As a volunteer, she lived in a rural village and facilitated numerous community projects. While serving, JaKyah was elected by fellow Peace Corps Volunteers to serve as one of the five volunteers on the Gender and Development Committee (GAD). This committee was established to support more than 60 Peace Corps Fiji Volunteers and Fijian community members. It assisted the development of volunteers’ Gender Equity Training and distributed resources that aided volunteers in completing gender equity projects as well as women’s economic development projects.

Cody Arigo

University of Maryland, School of Public Policy

CLASS YEAR: 2024

Cody was born and raised in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, before moving to Cumberland, Maryland, in 2011. He received a Bachelor of Arts degrees in history in 2018 from Salisbury University with minors in social studies and environmental studies. Cody wrote comprehensive academic historical papers that focused on colonialism, development and the Haitian Revolution. After graduating magna cum laude from Salisbury University in May 2018, Cody joined the Peace Corps in August 2018 where he went to Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia to teach English.

While a Peace Corps volunteer in a small village in the mountains of central Kyrgyzstan, Cody co-taught English lessons and wrote lesson plans with counterparts to improve the capacity of local teachers. Cody also conducted after-school American-Kyrgyz cultural exchange and sport clubs and wrote a small grant with the help of USAID and the Peace Corps to fund a project which trained local teachers how to implement technology with their lessons.

In the summer between his first and second year of his Peace Corps service, Cody worked with a local tourism small business to improve its sustainable translation services between English-speaking tourists and local Kyrgyz-speaking guides. Cody was evacuated from the Peace Corps on March 20, 2020, seven months prior to his close of service date because of the Covid-19 global public health emergency.

Since Cody left Kyrgyzstan, his primary counterpart has gone on to earn a scholarship for math study at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, where she will graduate in May 2022. Cody returned home from the Peace Corps eager to continue serving. He has worked wit the Maryland Department of Labor’s Division of Unemployment Insurance since June 2020 as an unemployment insurance professional, where he helps to process and enforce policy when adjudicating unemployment claims in the State of Maryland.

Cody is currently completing a Boren Fellowship in India, where he is studying Urdu. Upon his return from India in the Spring of 2024, he will complete his Master of Public Policy degree at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, where he specializes in International Security & Economic Policy.

Marja Ritchie

Texas A&M University, Bush School of Government & Public Service

CLASS YEAR: 2024

DISCIPLINE: Master's in International Affairs

Marja Ritchie is pursuing a Master of International Affairs at Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government and Public Service. In 2016, Marja graduated from Tufts University with a degree in East Asian Studies. While there she was a peer counselor and led the Tufts branch of Liberty in North Korea. She also studied abroad, learning Mandarin at Zhejiang University, and earning the prize for the junior with most improved academics. After graduating and moving to Lishui in China’s Zhejiang province, Marja spent three years teaching a variety of subjects at Lishui University. While there, she developed and taught a western calligraphy course, which she taught in Mandarin. In addition, she translated exhibits and trained staff at the Lishui Museum of Photography. After moving to Taipei in 2019 to teach young learners, she spent time learning Taiwanese Sign Language, Atayal traditional crafts, and also performed with a local community choir. While at the Bush School, Marja is exploring China’s relationships in the Asia-Pacific region.

Grace Pettey

University of Maryland, School of Public Policy

CLASS YEAR: 2024

DISCIPLINE: Master's of Public Policy

Grace Pettey is earning her Master’s of Public Policy degree at the University of Maryland’s (UMD) School of Public Policy. She recently interned with the National Defense University, conducting research on behalf of their Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Her internship and graduate degree build on her Bachelor’s in Political Science and her minor in Business Economics from the University of Notre Dame. Upon graduation from Notre Dame, she performed two years of national service as an AmeriCorps volunteer at College Possible in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she became deeply involved in and passionate about access to education. Pursuing her interests in education and cross-cultural exchange, she moved to Kigali, Rwanda as an English Teaching Assistant through the Fulbright Program. When the nine-month grant ended, she chose to stay in Kigali and continued working in the areas of copyediting, curriculum development, and communications for an additional three years. She worked at the African Leadership University (ALU), named the most innovative company in Africa by Fast Company in 2019, first as a learning facilitator and later in communications within the CEO’s office. Working with youth from across the continent sparked Grace’s interest in Africa’s increasingly critical role on the global stage as its population is young, growing rapidly, and developing leapfrog technological innovations. She is interested in promoting the United States’ foreign policy agenda in Africa and serving as an ambassador between American and African interests.

Olivia Parker

University of Maryland, School of Public Policy

CLASS YEAR: 2024

DISCIPLINE: Master's of Public Policy

Olivia Parker is completing a Master’s of Public Policy at the University of Maryland’s (UMD) School of Public Policy. She recently completed an internship with the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii. In 2021, she graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s in Chinese and a minor in French. Surprisingly she walked and received her diploma in Taipei, Taiwan, where she finished her studies as a Boren Scholar and interned for a policy think tank. Apart from her academics, Olivia has worked as a Senior College Correspondent for National Public Radio. For the past eight years, she has produced many stories covering events in the Phoenix valley. As a correspondent, she also taught journalism, audio, video, and multimedia production to high school students in an after-school program through the station. Originally from Phoenix, AZ, she finds joy in telling people’s stories and finding new ways to be part of her community.

Abigail Huie

Texas A&M University, Bush School of Government & Public Service

CLASS YEAR: 2024

DISCIPLINE: Master's in International Affairs

Abigail (Abby) Huie is pursuing a Master of International Affairs at Texas A&M University’s (TAMU) Bush School of Government and Public Service, focusing on international development and economic policy. She recently completed an internship with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

Abby graduated summa cum laude in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University, double-majoring in Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Communications and Journalism. In her time at Texas A&M University, Abby served in several service and leadership organizations, including PREP, a freshman professional development organization, and TAMU RYLLIES, a women’s organization that enhances children’s literacy in the Bryan-College Station area. In addition to campus involvement, Abby worked for the Agricultural and Food Policy Center, conducting research and data collection related to farm policy across the U.S. She was also an agriculture and natural resources policy intern in the DC Office of Congressman Filemon Vela (TX-34) and recently returned to the nation’s capital for a government relations internship with the National Cotton Council of America. Abby is particularly passionate about international trade and agricultural policy issues as they relate to global food insecurity.

McKenzie Hartman

University of California, San Diego, School of Global Policy & Strategy

CLASS YEAR: 2024

DISCIPLINE: Master's in International Affairs

McKenzie Hartman is earning her Master of International Affairs degree at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy & Strategy (GPS), where she is focusing on International Politics and Latin America. She recently completed an internship with the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, she graduated from The Ohio State University (OSU) in 2020 with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Relations & Diplomacy with minors in Spanish and German. During her undergraduate studies, she studied abroad in Chile and interned with the Political/Economic section of the U.S. Embassy in Bolivia, where she conducted research for the annual human rights report and helped organize bilateral exchanges between health professionals. After graduation from OSU, she worked for the Franklin County Board of Elections and hiked the Pacific Crest Trail across the country. She then served as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Germany, teaching classes on both the English language and American culture and politics.

Indira Gunness

Texas A&M University, Bush School of Government & Public Service

CLASS YEAR: 2024

DISCIPLINE: Master's in International Affairs

Indira Gunness is pursuing a Master of Arts in International Affairs at Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government & Public Service, where she is focusing on intelligence and grand strategy. She recently completed a summer internship with the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. Her graduate studies and internship build on her Bachelor of Science in International Relations, which she earned in 2019 from The University of the West Indies at the St. Augustine campus in Trinidad and Tobago. As an undergraduate student, she pursued language proficiency in Hindi and earned placement on the Dean’s Honor List. Prior to attending graduate school, Indira was employed at the Embassy of the United States in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, where she worked alongside law enforcement in support of U.S. strategic interests in the Caribbean region.

Andrew Harrison Gasparini

Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs

CLASS YEAR: 2024

DISCIPLINE: Master’s in Public Administration and International Relations

Andrew Gasparini is pursuing a dual Master’s degree in Public Administration and International Relations at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He is currently interning in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and he has recently completed an internship with the Millennium Challenge Corporation in the Department of Policy and Evaluation. He has a Bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science from Clemson University, where he served as the editor-in-chief of The Pendulum (Clemson’s international affairs magazine) and founded the Clemson Diplomacy Club. While at Clemson, Andrew studied post-conflict, post-communist societies in Belgrade, Serbia during his freshman year and returned the following summer to intern at The Workshop, an educational NGO for refugees. Following graduation from Clemson University, Andrew returned to his hometown of Kennesaw, GA, where he worked as the Assistant to the City Manager. He also established the Kennesaw Sister Cities Commission, served on the World Affairs Council of Atlanta’s Young Leaders Executive Board, and participated in both the Global Ties US Emerging Leaders Program and the US Global Leadership Coalition Next Gen Global Leaders Network.

Colleen (Bowman) McRann

University of Maryland, School of Public Policy

CLASS YEAR: 2024

DISCIPLINE: Master's of Public Policy

Colleen (Bowman) McRann is completing a Master’s of Public Policy at the University of Maryland’s (UMD) School of Public Policy, while also interning at the U.S. Department of State in the Bureau of Political Military Affairs. She joins UMD after serving as the Director of Network Engagement at The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation. In this role, she developed and executed the strategy to activate the Institute’s network of 40,000 public innovators. Her work supported the Institute’s mission of creating a more hopeful, just, fair and equitable society. Prior to joining The Harwood Institute, she worked as the Northeast Regional Outreach Director at the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC), where she expanded and strengthened the USGLC’s network of businesses, political, civic, faith-based, academic, and military leaders. Colleen worked to protect U.S. development and diplomacy programs by hosting local events and leading constituent meetings with members of Congress.

Her passion for foreign affairs was ignited during her undergraduate studies when she was selected to participate in the College of the Holy Cross’ Washington Semester Program. She interned for then-Senator John Kerry, who was serving as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She also wrote a thesis analyzing U.S. involvement in the Northern Ireland peace process and was later selected to represent Holy Cross at the Student Conference on U.S. Affairs at the U.S. Military Academy of West Point. Through these undergraduate experiences and advocating for development and diplomacy programs in her career, she cultivated a deep appreciation for how international affairs programs can advance U.S. economic and security interests.