Each year as fall descends, temperatures drop and leaves change. As campus is once again transformed from ghost town to boom town, new students at MSFS perform a rite of passage: electing from among their ranks a select few to be their class representatives. These representatives represent student interests before administration, organize and host events, and bring the student body together around important discussions.
This year’s first-year (MSFS’15) class representatives are Kim Yarborough, Andy Steele, Eugene Shapsyuk, Brendan Foo and Nathan Powell. MSFS discussed the program with two of the representatives, Yarborough and Steele, to gain some insight on their thought process.
Yarborough, originally from Nashville, TN, spent a year as a Fulbright Scholar in Spain before returning to the US to work in advertising in New York. She came to MSFS because she wanted to have an impact on global relations.
“I wanted to be a part of a dynamic community,” Yarborough said. “I know that professionally it will provide me with the tools and knowledge I need–not only to succeed in my career, but more importantly to make a meaningful contribution to international affairs.”
As far as why she decided to run for student representative, Yarborough says she wanted to help her classmates connect to one another because “it’s important for our class to have a point person through whom to voice concerns to the administration, and to continue to improve the program. An important part of the MSFS experience is also cultivating relationships amongst fellow classmates.” In addition, Yarborough commented that as a student representative, she’s “excited about planning fun events that will bring everyone together.”
Steele, from Buffalo, NY, comes to MSFS after spending time in China and working with a non-profit think tank in DC dedicated to advocating bi-partisan solutions to policy problems. One of the reasons he chose MSFS was the heavy focus on language skills.
“I wanted to get the knowledge and the skill set that I would need help me influence relations between countries,” Steele explained. “Language is a big part of that, and no other school puts value on language acquisition like Georgetown does. I studied Chinese in college and had a chance to live in China during 2008. Since then I haven’t taken my eye of East Asia and I’m a firm believer that this is a ‘Pacific Century.’ Given that, I really wanted to improve my Chinese skills, and MSFS offers language scholarships that allow students to take language classes at no extra cost.”
For Steele, the opportunity to serve the student body as a representative was important, but his lengthy commute to campus was another relevant factor. “I live a long way from campus,” says Steele, “so I knew that if I could be elected a student rep, I’d be more likely to get involved with the community outside of my day-to-day class schedule. For me, a key component of a successful Master’s involves really engaging with my peers and this is a great opportunity to do that.”
Student reps begin work immediately. Along with an already packed first-semester schedule, they work to plan the semester’s social calendar, providing relief to second-year student reps busy with job searches and preparations for Oral Examinations.