International Relations

Department News

• Read students’ reflections from off-campus study
  All students who study off campus write an essay upon their return. These reflections describe the students’ activities during their time away and, more importantly, how those experiences changed their perspective and what they learned about a new environment and about themselves.
  
  Each semester, all reflections are entered as contest submissions. The author of the winning essay receives a small cash prize. That essay and other selected entries are published on this page.
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  Alumna builds better futures in Seoul
  Morgan Easter ’09, an international relations major, is creating an enriched learning environment for her students in Seoul, South Korea. She is a primary teacher at a hagwon, a private institution. “Watching my kindergarten students start without any knowledge of English and seeing them develop into confident English speakers has been thrilling and rewarding,” she writes.
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  Sejoud Karmash ‘12 and Asmah Mubarak ‘11 meet Moroccan ambassador to the U.S.
  International relations and Middle Eastern Studies double-major Sejoud Karmash ‘12 and history major and Islamic World Studies minor Asmah Mubarak ‘11 speak with Ambassador Aziz Mekouar of Morocco to the United States following a luncheon talk by the ambassador on recent political developments in the Middle East.
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  Tyler Lawrence ‘11 interns for newly elected Congressman Dold
  Tyler Lawrence ‘11 joins Representative Robert Dold following the most dramatic shift in the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives in recent time. Over 80 freshman Republicans joined the 112th Congress in January 2011. Dold won the Illinois 10th District seat, which includes the City of Lake Forest, vacated by Republican Mark Kirk, who won the U.S. Senate seat held by President Obama from 2005 to 2008.
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  Alumna improving education, reducing violence in Congo
  Soon after graduating from Lake Forest College with a degree in international relations, Maryam Vahedi Parsa ’05 embarked on a life-changing journey. Upon completing her graduate studies in international relations at the University of Chicago, she moved with her husband, Anis Parsa, to the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Central Africa, where they are currently working with humanitarian relief organizations.
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  Vanessa Flores ’12 helps build homes in Ecuador
  International relations and Latin American studies double-major Vanessa Flores ’12 spent last summer in her native Ecuador working for Un techo para mi País.
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  Laura Frye ’12 publishes children’s book in Bolivia
  During the fall semester 2010, Laura Frye ‘12 participated in a study-abroad program on multiculturalism, globalization, and social change. During her time in Cochabamba, Bolivia, Laura studied with Bolivian intellectuals and community leaders, published a book in three languages, lived with a host family, traveled to different parts of the country, and gained an appreciation and understanding of the country’s cultures, languages, and critical socio-economic and political issues.
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  Student interns at UN organization in Paris
  International relations and economics major Fabricio Sordoni ‘11 recounts his service at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris during his recent semester abroad.
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  International consulates come to campus
  Lake Forest College welcomed several international consulates and trade representatives to campus Wednesday, November 10.