02/28/2025
🚀MSFS kicked off 2025 with a strong start! Here’s a recap of our exciting events in January and February:
1️⃣ We welcomed Dr. Jon B. Alterman – director of the Middle East Program at CSIS to the Hilltop. He shared his insights on US Foreign Policy in the Middle East and its future trajectory.
2️⃣ Serbian activist Srdja Popovic discussed with our students his activism journey and how we can develop strategies to sustain democratic values in challenging times.
3️⃣ The IDEV Mixer brought together first and second-year IDEV students and faculty members.
4️⃣ Anna Bjerde – Managing Director of the World Bank joined Professor Shanta Devarajan and Professor Mary Hallward-Driemeier in discussing how the World Bank tackles some of the most pressing development challenges through innovation and partnerships.
5️⃣ MSFS alumnus Jason Manning shared his experience of working in the January 6th prosecution team. He spoke on what it was like to participate in the largest criminal investigation in the DoJ’s history, the implications of pardoning defendants and ways to engage in these issues going forward.
6️⃣ We welcomed back 4 MSFS alumni – Mark Simakovsky, Eileen Shields West, David Samso-Aparici and Kaia Miller Goldstein. They shared their career journeys and offered students invaluable advice on how to build resilience, adapt to external changes, and leverage skills during career search.
7️⃣ Mock orals gave second-year students a chance to practice their oral exam with feedback from our incredible alumni.
8️⃣ We held a very special joint PiR session with two of our PiRs – David Tratchenberg and Vivian Walker. In this session, they compared DoD and the State Department approaches to foreign and national security policy.
