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  • Nicole Blanco

SAIS - The John Hopkins School of Advanced Interantional Studies (D.C. Day 4)

Updated: Jun 13, 2019


Clewiston High School Students with International Relations Professionals

Exhausted from the previous day of touring national monuments, the first item on the itinerary for the 6th of June - the International Spy Museum - did not receive all the visitors it would have originally, with only 3 of our classmates having the energy to go.

For the rest of us, the day began with us donning business casual attire for a day with professionals at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).



First on the agenda at SAIS was an introduction to the educational programs and career opportunities attached to them. The school focuses on political and economic history and trends for work in government or civic/international organizations. They offer masters programs as well as PHDs with regional and topical emphasis choices such as law, environmental challenges, and human rights.



Second, a professional with a background in international law introduced us to the concept of international relations using chocolate. Environmental, economic, and political situations all have an impact on the availability of chocolate in the U.S. because we depend on other countries to produce the cocoa. All of these topics sum up how international relations impacts our every day in big ways, and in chocolate ways.



Third, Mac from SAIS's economics program introduced our group to game theory. We played rock paper scissors and analyzed how we made each decision. He explained that organizations, companies, and governments have to make decisions ever day that will have various implications depending on the decisions of other organizations, companies, and governments, and international relations navigates the decision making process.



Finally, the most significant part of our visit to SAIS included informational interviews with several professionals around DC. Amongst these included a lawyer from the Department of Justice, a lawyer from the Inter-agency on Homelessness, program examiner for The Office of Management and Budget of the White House, associate for the Albright Stonebridge Group, manager at US-AID, representative of the World Bank, an executive from the U.S. Air Force, and an associate from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.




"It felt like there was a real connection, like they cared and really wanted to talk to us and help us navigate our future career paths." - Nicole Blanco


~Check back soon for more quotes from students about this amazing day!~



This panel introduced several interesting careers to those interested in history, government, human rights, and advocacy. There were professionals from Mexico, Botswana, Nigeria, and more and was very beneficial because their lives were living examples of obtaining their goals no matter where they come from. They gave wonderful advice on how to get ahead in any professional environment, encouraged us to follow our passions and never put limits on what we think we are capable of accomplishing.


Final Words of Advice from our professionals:


We really learned quite a bit about our education and career path from these professionals. We felt honored to be able to speak to these wonderful and highly qualified individuals.


"This was a very special opportunity for CHS students. The room was charged with energy and I was overwhelmed with joy witnessing authentic connections being made. However it is so important that my students know, that while we from South Florida were feeling so grateful for the time and energy these participants gave to our students, all of them thanked me for the opportunity to participate in such an event. They were so impressed with all of you and are cheering for you as you pursue your futures. I couldn't be prouder!" - Ms. McCarthy


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