2020-2021

Jordan Kramer (COL ’22)

Jordan Kramer, who studies Biology, will use her Goldwater Scholarship to continue her work in cancer cell research.

After graduating, Jordan plans to pursue a combined M.D./Ph.D. degree specializing in immunology. She ultimately wants to become a pediatric oncologist and help develop novel immunotherapy techniques to treat rare pediatric cancers.

Harrison Nugent (SFS ’20)

Harrison Nugent graduated summa cum laude, with a major in International Politics with a focus on national security issues.

Through internships for House Speaker Paul Ryan, the White House Historical Association, and Senator Bill Cassidy, Harrison developed his love of policy and civic engagement.

He currently works on the health policy team for D.C.-based public relations firm Venn Strategies but hopes to attend law school in the future with the aspiration of being the Assistant Attorney General for National Security in the Department of Justice.

Anna Landre (SFS ’21)

Anna Landre, a Regional and Comparative Studies Major, has been conducting research at the intersection of disability studies and global development throughout her time at Georgetown.

Anna hopes that the experience she will gain through the Marshall scholarship will enable her to work for the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights in Geneva, where she wants to monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

In the long term, Anna wants to establish an alliance or nonprofit organization to coordinate the actions of disability rights advocates from across the globe.

Yumna Naqvi (SFS ’21)

Yumna Naqvi, an International Political Economy major, has been examining the economic impacts of massive unexpected events – such as the current pandemic – and hopes her data-driven research and policy interventions will better protect already vulnerable communities.

After completing her studies at the London School of Economics and Oxford, Yumna wants to pursue her Ph.D. in applied economics, “developing policy responses to directly assist vulnerable populations.”

Amber Stanford (COL ’21)

Amber Stanford, a Government and Theology double major, researches how historical traumas have impacted Black women’s involvement in religious movements over the last century.

Amber hopes to continue her research by completing a Ph.D. in religion. As an academic, she hopes to broaden her understanding of how the legacy of slavery influenced Black women’s roles and experiences in 20th-century religious movements.

Isaiah Fleming-Klink (SFS ’19)

Isaiah Fleming-Klink, who studied Culture and Politics at Georgetown, works as a Strategic Planning Analyst at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), where he helps craft and implement the authority’s transformation plan. Isaiah also coordinates NYCHA’s effort to bring affordable broadband services to its roughly 400,000 public housing residents.

As an SFS student, Isaiah began dedicating his time to analyzing housing policy and defending tenant’s rights.

After his two years of study in the United Kingdom, Isaiah hopes to bring his newly-developed skills back to New York, where he wants to use his expertise in urban policy design, implementation, and evaluation to better serve the city and its residents.

Ultimately, he wants to influence nationwide housing and land use policy, potentially through a role at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Said Bilani (SCS ’20)

Said Bilani immersed himself in the political world of Washington, D.C., while pursuing his Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies at the School of Continuing Studies.

Currently assigned to the Bureau of Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, Said is also pursuing a Master’s in International Education Policy at Harvard University as a Gates Millennium Scholar.

The Pickering Fellowship will provide Said with extensive professional development opportunities that include internships, mentors, and skills training. Said will have an internship based in Washington, D.C., working with the State Department in summer 2022. In the summer of 2023, he will be overseas to work and gain hands-on experience with U.S. foreign policy and the work of the Foreign Service.

Piyusha Mittal (SFS ’18)

Piyusha, a Culture and Politics major, says her international experiences at Georgetown inspired her to pursue a career abroad. 

At Georgetown, Piyusha co-founded the Georgetown’s Women in Faith student group, which convenes students of different faith backgrounds to reflect on compassion, leadership, and cross-cultural learning. She also explored religion in society through internships with the Pew Research Center and the World Faiths Development Dialogue.

Through a Critical Language Scholarship, Piyusha was able to study Urdu in Lucknow, India in the summer between her junior and senior years. Immediately after graduating, she worked as an English teacher in Andorra through a Fulbright grant.

Alejandro Garcia Escobar Plascencia (SFS ’21)

Alejandro, a Culture and Politics major, committed himself to studying what happens to societies when community breaks downs as a Georgetown student.

Alejandro participated in a study abroad program in Kigali, Rwanda, where he talked with survivors of the 1994 genocide and learned more about how to rebuild civil society after violence from communities on the ground.

Alejandro believes that listening is one of the best tools at a diplomat’s disposal, and he plans to deepen his understanding of the communities he will work with as a foreign service officer to help foster peace in regions around the world.

Isaac Kim (SFS ’20)

Isaac, an International Politics major, arrived on the Hilltop as a transfer student. Isaac already had a passion for refugee advocacy and the study of migration, having volunteered as a tutor for resettled refugees before he got to Georgetown.

Isaac travelled to Sweden to study the experience of refugee children through the SFS Centennial Lab class Refugees and Child Migrants taught by professors Elizabeth Ferris and Katharine Donato.

In his final two years at Georgetown, Isaac served on the planning committee for the Georgetown Africa Business Conference, which highlights the impact of the private sector on the continent.

As a foreign service officer, Isaac would like to work diplomatically in advancing economic security for refugees and other migrants worldwide.

Alex Heintz (MSB ’19)

Alex’s journey began in the fall 2015 semester with a narrow focus on entrepreneurship as he launched a financial news company, Flynance, when he was only a freshman. He would go on to intern with the venture capital firm, Revolution, and publish a book on Generation Z entrepreneurship.

After graduating from Georgetown McDonough, Alex began working for a hedge fund whose strategies are run exclusively by artificial intelligence (AI) — and he was hooked.

Alex believes the Schwarzman Scholarship will allow him the opportunity to take full advantage of the abundant opportunities in China and to learn more about how Chinese leaders are thinking about AI. He was inspired by Georgetown’s Jesuit values and wants to continue to understand how leaders can come together to use AI as a force for good.  

Lucia Wei He (SFS ’15)

Journalist Lucia Wei He describes herself as “a product of the crossroads between Argentina and China.” Raised in Mar del Plata, Argentina by her Chinese parents, the Georgetown alumna’s upbringing led to a deep fascination with China-Latin America relations. She now will explore the field more deeply through study in Beijing as a Schwarzman Scholar.

Last year, Lucia won the Inter-American Press Association’s Excellence in Journalism Award for a video story she produced about families whose lives were devastated by flooding in Argentina’s slums. While she is proud of the honor, she says that the compassion the story evoked was the greatest measure of its success. 

Lucia intends to make the most of her Schwarzman Scholarship to develop the knowledge, skills and network she will need to move into this new stage of her career. She is particularly excited by the program’s curricular offerings, including “Deep Dives” — intensive one-week field trips to areas across China — and its immersive courses. She also knows that building personal relationships within the program will be invaluable to her future work.

James Bond (SFS ’22)

Lorinda Ruz (SFS ’22)

Kayla Edwards-Friedland (SFS ’22)

Victoria Boatright (COL ’22)

Arjun Mehrotra (SFS ’20)

Diane Da Yeon Yee (SFS ’20)