International Relations Week gives students opportunity to speak

Photo+Courtesy+of+Flickr+user+Moby.+

Photo Courtesy of Flickr user Moby.

Kelsey Werkheiser, Special Features Co-Editor

Bucknell held its annual International Relations Week from Oct. 24–28.

The events kicked off on Monday with an international relations Student Panel on Internships and Undergraduate Research in the Bertrand Library Traditional Reading Room. 

Elena Roe ’23 spoke on conducting research on the counterterrorism policies of women Heads of State with Professor Courtney Burns, with funding from the Bucknell Institute for Public Policy, the Candland Fund, Political Science Department and the Provost’s office. 

She presented her research at two conferences in Nashville, Tennessee and Ljubljana, Slovenia. 

“I really appreciate the IR department giving students a chance to share their experiences with internships and undergrad research,” Roe said. “It was incredibly rewarding to be able to answer questions for younger students looking into the major and wonderful to have faculty there for support.”

Alec Baker ’23 spoke on interning at the U.S. consulate in Helsinki, Finland and Abbie Coscia ’23 talked about studying abroad in the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. 

Lydia Hybels ’24 talked about interning at the Borgen Project, an organization that tackles extreme poverty. Viviane McMullen ’24 spoke about receiving Capitol Hill funding, as well as interning at the office of Rep. Dylan Fernandes of Massachusetts state legislature. 

Faculty held a panel on “The Russian Invasian of Ukraine and North Atlantic Security,” on Tuesday, featuring Professors Joseph Jozwiak, David Mitchell and Luke Wood. The event was sponsored by the Bucknell Institute for Public Policy.

“I thought it was a really great experience to hear about the Russian invasion of Ukraine from professors who specialize in international relations, because there was a much deeper analysis of the systemic issues that led up to it,” Kayla Howie ’25, an attendee of the event, said. “I feel like the news is so caught up in the death counts that they don’t really get into why these deaths are occurring.”

There was a screening of the documentary “Powerlands” at the Campus Theatre on Wednesday. The award-winning documentary, directed by Navajo filmmaker Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso, investigates the displacement of indigenous people and the devastation of the environment by chemical companies. There was an introduction and Q&A led by the director and the producer Jordan Flaherty. 

Early in the day, Multicultural Student Services held a luncheon with the director and the producer in the Diversity and Inclusion Multipurpose Room.

Students had the opportunity to test their knowledge on international affairs with a campus-wide Kahoot! competition on Thursday. There were pizza and prizes for winners including tickets to the Weis Center performance of the Alfredo Rodriquez and Pedrito Martinez Duo.

There will be an IR Alumni Panel from 12–1 p.m. in the ELC 213 on Friday, where they will be discussing their paths during and after Bucknell. The guests include Sarah Bunker ’12 (Gender Data Scientist at the World Bank), Rylan Forester ’21 (Guidepoint), Asha Harvey ’15 (Deloitte Greenhouse) and Jenna DiPaolo Colley ’07 (Chief Communications Officer, Greenpeace).



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