Alumni Reflections
 

Sandya Das
MLI Class of 2005
Wellesley College
International Relations
~ Pickering Fellow ~

  “At our closing ceremony of the Maryland Leadership Institute (MLI), my peer welcomed us by stating that “we are the leaders of not just tomorrow, but today”. As his words echoed in my ears, I was slowly reminded of the different aspects of leadership I learned throughout the program. The past seven weeks of intensive learning provided me with the confidence and tools to create change in government, international institutions, and in our own communities today. The program's emphasis on the many aspects of leadership strengthened my understanding of cultural competence, improved my analytical writing skills, and my ability to use statistical and economic models for policy analysis.

  Through MLI's intellectually stimulating environment, I was able to develop substantive knowledge on issues concerning ethics of international development policies, national security and terrorism. These courses increased my awareness of world affairs and allowed me to interact with distinguished scholars and international journalists. At Wellesley College and in my future career with the U.S. State Department, I am prepared to further advance my knowledge of global affairs and international cooperation.

Not only did MLI provide participants with graduate level coursework, but it also stressed cultural competence as a component of effective leadership. I broadened my understanding of communicating between governmental agencies to include the ability to move across institutional cultural boundaries. In our Policy II negotiation simulation, I practiced this skill when I articulated the position of the Department of Defense to the National Security Council on how to allocate additional homeland security funds. As a result, I am more aware of incorporating cultural competence into negotiation and conflict resolution and dealing with different constituencies when I become a U.S. Foreign Service Officer.

The past seven weeks allowed me to reexamine my aspirations to improve my personal well being, my relationships, and to reaffirm my passion to be an informed social leader. I enhanced my public speaking skills through engaging dialogue with faculty and peers. Whether my peers and I were on the train or working on policy memos late at night, we challenged each other to think critically about the world's problems from different perspectives. Additionally, I strengthened my sense of confidence and my ability to frame intelligent

questions using my prior knowledge and skills. I also had the opportunity to observe my peer's leadership qualities as they raised provocative questions at site visits and Brody forums.

MLI's mission to cultivate leaders of today in international affairs fortified my professionalism, intellectual curiosity, and my passion to develop personal connections with people from different parts of the world. I gained invaluable friendships and a strong support network with people passionate to pursue careers in public service. Through the program, I developed the confidence to face challenges in communication and to lead efforts that address the world's most pressing international security concerns and civil liberties abuses. “

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Claudine Kanku Page
MLI Class of 2005

Georgetown University
French
~ PPIA Fellow ~

The personal and professional growth I underwent during the Public Policy and International Affairs Fellowship is invaluable. In my application to the program, I included an essay in which I expressed my hopes that PPIA would solidify my life's realities and the reflections that accompany them into professional ambitions. Throughout the 7-week program, PPIA fulfilled this very expectation. As a result of the hours spent in classrooms with highly knowledgeable professors, the numerous encounters with distinguished professionals, and the high intensity contact with fellow ambitious people, I am now better prepared to tackle missions in public service.

My career aspirations are largely shaped by my family's experiences of global inequality and international development. My Congolese mother is the epitome of unfound talent and raw energy that struggled within an impoverished environment desolate of opportunity. As the only female child in a largely patriarchal society, she had to fight for every educational and professional opportunity she received. My American father's dedication to public service represents the other side of the struggle. My father fought the common tendency in Carmel , California to become lawyer, an architect, or a doctor; he answered his call by entering the Peace Corps. Throughout his work in various regions of Africa , he became a symbol of self-less service and grounded determination.

My entire childhood forcibly revolved around my roots in a forsaken continent and my father's efforts to eradicate global disparities. I moved from Congo to Belgium because of a lack in adequate elementary education; my father's various Peace Corps obligations brought us from Congo to Rwanda to Burundi to Guinea ; Finally, I moved from Guinea to Washington DC because of a lack in adequate health care for my mother's condition. Needless to say, I have always been preoccupied by development policy as it pertains to people of the global south.

Through various high-school and university activities—leading Diversity Workshops, working for NGO's in West Africa , mentoring imprisoned adolescents, conducting human rights research-- I have struggled to establish my role in public service. Not until my completion of PPIA did I have a clear plan of action. With the guidance of public policy experts, I was able to funnel my interests into concrete and viable goals relevant to the current international context.

PPIA armed me with some qualitative and quantitative knowledge essential to understanding the global public policy atmosphere. For seven weeks, numerous bright professors combined economic, statistical, and political theories with conceptual elements of development and security policies. Their teachings allowed me to understand the magnitude of public service in relation to my personal experiences. Further, my exchanges outside of the classroom with a diverse pool of PPIA affiliates greatly benefited my definition of public service. Unique and worldly students and professionals alike validated my vision of the public service sector as encompassing of all religions, races, genders, etc.

I graduated from PPIA with a strong sense of self and determination. I feel refreshed. My knowledge has expanded. Life is much clearer. Profession is now synonymous with passion.

“As a result of the hours spent in classrooms with highly knowledgeable professors, the numerous encounters with distinguished professionals, and the high intensity contact with fellow ambitious people, I am now better prepared to tackle missions in public service.”