She also was selected as one of the student dancers for 鈥淕ather Together,鈥� the original dance performance presented in May by choreographer Robert Battle as part of 麻豆影院鈥檚 inaugural Creator in Residence program.

鈥淚t was an absolutely amazing experience and truly reinforced how to best connect to people through the arts,鈥� Velez said.

Her post-graduation plan includes working as a paralegal for a year or two before beginning law school.聽

鈥淚鈥檝e always wanted to go into law to help people,鈥� Velez said. 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to find that area between my international studies and humanitarian law, as well as international business law, and then slowly migrating into refugee and immigration law.鈥澛�

An Ecuadorian American, Velez first connected with 麻豆影院 through the university鈥檚 partnership with the Posse Foundation. Her international relations major gave her access to visiting professors and other professionals who spoke passionately about diplomacy work and other aspects of international careers.聽

鈥淎nd then through Model UN, which is facilitated through the International Relations Department, we鈥檝e been able to meet people from all over the world and experience what it鈥檚 like to be part of an international community,鈥� Velez said. 鈥淎ll of that really solidified my want and desire to be a part of it.鈥�

She will share aspects of that journey with her fellow graduates at Commencement.

鈥淚 am incredibly grateful for the experience I鈥檝e had here at 麻豆影院,鈥� Velez said.

麻豆影院鈥檚 Commencement also will feature an address from Commencement speaker Campbell Scott 鈥�83, an accomplished actor and director, a message from 麻豆影院 President Laurie A. Carter, and the awarding of honorary degrees to Robert McDonald 鈥�73, a much-honored pianist and music educator, and Scott. Beginning at 10 a.m., it will be the culmination of a Commencement weekend that includes a Commencement concert on June 13 featuring members of the Class of 2025, a cookout for the campus community and a Baccalaureate service, both on the afternoon of June 14, a weekend-long senior art exhibition in Wriston Art Center, and various dinners and celebrations.聽

鈥淚t felt grounding,鈥� Velez said. 鈥淥ne of the delegates we talked to was involved in Model UN when she was in high school. If this is a career path you want to go down, it is beneficial in honing the path to success.鈥�

The team also was able to explore DC with fellow committee members. They explored the National Mall and saw the White House, the Capitol, the Supreme Court and visited the nearby museums like the Natural History聽Museum.

“That’s not an experience most people get to have,” Stuart said.聽

Stuart helped restart the Model UN club along with Paola Saldana Galvan 鈥�24 and Grace Smith 鈥�23 a few years ago. Velez and others joined with enthusiasm.

鈥淲e live in a globalized community and a globalized world,鈥� Velez said. 鈥淲e are globalized citizens. We should get involved and get to know each other.鈥澛�

Model UN simulations engage hundreds of thousands of students each year, helping them to learn more about the principles of the United Nations and how it functions. Students role-play as delegates from different countries, working together to solve global issues.聽The Model UN website notes that many leaders in law, government, business, and the arts, including at the UN itself, participated in Model UN as students.

While coursework at 麻豆影院 has helped Stuart understand international relations, he knows that his knowledge and connections would not be where they are today without his involvement in Model UN.聽聽

鈥淟earning how the full structure works gives me an understanding of how international relations works and lets me practice it in a way coursework can’t,鈥� he said.聽聽

Stuart said that much of the information gained while at conferences and trainings is both historical and localized, making all he learns relevant to his future pursuits.

鈥淵ou also get to develop communication and public speaking skills,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an exciting thing that I really love.鈥澛�

Both Velez and Stuart said they plan to use what they have gained through Model UN in their future career pursuits.聽Velez, who plans to go into international law, has focused her attention on consulting for humanitarian organizations and working with federal agencies.聽

鈥淢odel UN allows you to get immersed in the culture, and learn how a lot of it is bureaucracy,鈥� she said.聽

In her time at 麻豆影院, Velez has learned how to network, organize funding, refine research, and lead a team to victory.聽

Velez and Stuart believe that 麻豆影院鈥檚 Model UN team draws its strength from its independent nature鈥攊t is student led鈥攁nd the close-knit community of its members. Due to 麻豆影院鈥檚 trimester calendar and the club drawing students from various majors, Model UN at 麻豆影院 runs on a much different schedule than at many schools.聽

鈥淲e arrange our travel, learn how to research, train our fellow students, and figure out all the nitty gritty details to make conferences happen,鈥� Stuart said. 鈥淎s a relatively small school, we really are the ones who are pushing this forward in a way that’s unique.鈥澛�

Velez is excited to see the club evolve now that it鈥檚 regained its traction.

鈥淲e are very proud of how much the club has grown,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a resource for all kinds of students of all different majors and interests. It鈥檚 all about being global.鈥澛�

Cao Le is interested in East Asian studies and international conflict resolution within her major. She has a particular interest in China, South Korea, and her home country of Vietnam.

She has had a deep love for international relations for a long time. She spent a year studying at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam before she came to 麻豆影院, and she declared her major Fall Term of her first year.

In her time at 麻豆影院, Cao Le has been busy with a handful of research projects. She worked on researching Vietnamese foreign policy in a remote internship with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam. She spent time in Vietnam studying cooperation between the United States and Vietnamese governments at Fulbright University Vietnam, and she acted as a Vietnamese delegate at the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations Conference in Hong Kong. She said she had the opportunity to meet the former vice president of the Philippines and high-ranking political leaders from Hong Kong and China.

This year, she鈥檚 been focused on pursuing research and writing articles, although she鈥檚 still been traveling. She spent spring break in The Gambia with other 麻豆影院 students making observations and conducting interviews in individual projects. She said this was one of the most transformative experiences for her.

鈥淟istening to the community voice, it really matters to understand the bigger picture and to find innovative solutions,鈥� she said.

After graduation, Cao Le wants to complete a fellowship in China. She is interested in studying more about China鈥檚 politics and their interactions with her home country of Vietnam. Afterward, she wants to come back to the United States to earn her Ph.D. and become a professor in international relations.

鈥淚鈥檓 kind of certain I will end up in Vietnam,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 really want to come back to contribute to the diplomatic scholarship in my country.鈥�

Leaving Vietnam was difficult for Cao Le, but she said experiencing new worldviews through her research has made it so satisfying that she can forget the homesickness. She was drawn to 麻豆影院 by the sense of belonging on campus and the opportunity to work with professors on an individual basis, and she is deeply grateful to 麻豆影院 faculty for helping her achieve her goals.

鈥淚 want to say thank you for the support of the 麻豆影院 professors and my friends,鈥� she said. 鈥淲ithout their support, I could never be this strong. I want to promise I will do something to pay it forward for the 麻豆影院 community for helping me achieve all these things.鈥�

For Nico Manzanera, traveling to The Gambia wasn鈥檛 the only first. He had recently declared a business and entrepreneurship major, a program that began at the start of the 2023-24 academic year. He became the first business major to go on one of these research trips.

鈥淚 was very happy to take the opportunity,鈥� Manzanera said.

A sophomore from Bradenton, Florida, Manzanera chose to explore the main challenges and opportunities for businesses in The Gambia. He was able to speak with people from all walks of life鈥攅ntrepreneurs, lawyers, athletes, and politicians.聽聽

Much of his observation came from traveling to local gathering spots in the city, as well as riding public transportation and talking to taxi drivers.聽聽

鈥淚 traveled a lot,鈥� Manzanera said. 鈥淚 got to see a lot of the day-to-day life of these people.鈥澛�

Senior Gigi Wood received one of her best leads from a taxi driver.聽聽

A double major in international relations and philosophy from Lake Villa, Illinois, Wood chose to base her research on sports and youth sports in The Gambia. Her taxi driver introduced her to a soccer player who played internationally for 16 years.聽聽

鈥淗e was the most helpful interview I had for my project, and I hadn鈥檛 even planned it,鈥� Wood said. 鈥淚t just kind of came about just from going to different areas and seeing different fields in the country.聽I was able to stumble on these amazing people who filled me in on things I wouldn鈥檛 have found online researching and gave me insights to look into on how sports can develop in these countries.鈥澛�

As an athlete herself鈥擶ood played on the women鈥檚 ice hockey team for four years鈥攖he topic was a perfect fit. Through her interactions, Wood hoped to learn more about the difficulties The Gambia had with their developing infrastructure, how athletes develop, and what that means for their country.聽聽

One of their main challenges, Wood said, is that many of the best athletes travel to Europe to play, especially soccer players. This makes it difficult to develop the professional teams in The Gambia.聽

However, she found that some international players have started to return to The Gambia to open youth sports programs.聽聽

鈥淚 got to talk to a few of them and get the real sense of what it means to be a youth athlete in a developing country like The Gambia,鈥� Wood said.聽聽

Junior Miami Kirkwood found that The Gambia is at the forefront of global environmental conversations.聽聽

Although The Gambia is a small nation with a vast array of environmental concerns, the country also has some of the most ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for the Paris Climate Agreement. (An NDC is a climate action plan to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts.)聽

Kirkwood, an environmental studies major from Delton, Michigan, focused her research on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and how they collaborate with policymaking in developing countries.聽

鈥淣GOs in The Gambia play a much different role than they do here in the United States,鈥� Kirkwood said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e much more hands-on.鈥澛�

Kirkwood had an interview with the team at Green Up Gambia, one of the most renowned NGOs in the country.聽聽

One thing founder Kemo Fatty said that struck her, Kirkwood said, was The Gambia was 鈥済round zero鈥� for climate change, and that it was their job to talk to people to facilitate their needs.聽

鈥淪tarting with the people who are experiencing environmental crises or environmental concerns and really engaging with local populations and listening to their needs,鈥� Kirkwood said. 鈥淭hese organizations have the resources to do more about that, so really they view themselves as facilitators rather than as saviors.鈥澛�

To Quynh Anh (Cailey) Cao Le,聽聽a sophomore international relations major from Vietnam, that understanding of the daily lives, struggles, and goals of the local people made the trip a unique experience.聽

鈥淚 think that is the amazing part,鈥� Cao Le said. 鈥淲e had a chance to understand their daily life. You have a chance for very intense interaction, also intense observation鈥攔eally, really powerful to help understand more about the country.鈥澛�

Cao Le鈥檚 research focused on the relationship between democracy and Islam in The Gambia. According to Cao Le, about 96% of the population of The Gambia identifies as Muslim, and the country just adopted democracy in 2017.聽聽

In addition to interviewing the Imam of the Masjid Taqwa Mosque, one of the leading religious leaders in the country, Cao Le also observed how the people acted, prayed, and worshiped, including in public spaces, to fuel her research.聽聽

聽Fun and games

Even with a schedule jam-packed with interviews and meetings, the students were able to squeeze in time to have some fun. With the beach just steps away from their hotel, swimming and playing beach volleyball together were common pastimes.聽

They also embraced the city life by wandering the town and enjoying local foods, African music, and each other鈥檚 stories about their experiences. The numerous markets were also a highlight of the trip.聽聽

鈥淭here were a ton of markets you could go to and really engage with the locals,鈥� Kirkwood said. 鈥淚 think we made a lot of local friends. It is branded 鈥楾he Smiling Coast鈥� for a reason.”聽

In addition, some were able to visit the Bijilo Forest Park, a national park often known as Monkey Park, to learn about the efforts around sustainability and the conservation of the monkeys that reside there.聽

聽Giving back

The second component of Field Experience in Development is volunteerism: giving back to a local community in tandem with KidsGive, a scholarship program associated with 麻豆影院. The mission of KidsGive is to educate those in the U.S. about the life and culture of African communities.聽

鈥淭he students both do field research and volunteer in community schools, so they help contribute to the places that they visit as well,鈥� Skran said.聽

Organized by junior Fanta Jatta, a neuroscience major from Madison, Wisconsin, the students visited Presentation of Mary Basic Cycle School in Brikama. Four of the 16 students came to The Gambia specifically to volunteer, attending the school daily to perform eye screenings for 400 students. They also helped an eye doctor with further examinations, and KidsGive furnished 32 students with much-needed glasses.聽聽

Additional 麻豆影院 students came to help with the screenings for one day of the week, which Wood said was a very eye-opening experience for her.聽聽

鈥淲hen I was very young, I started wearing glasses and contacts,鈥� Wood said. 鈥淎 lot of these older kids who were coming in had really bad vision, and they had been going through school not knowing that they needed these.鈥澛�

麻豆影院 and KidsGive also gave back in the form of sports fun, which Wood connected to her research. Before arriving at the school, Wood purchased sports equipment to be donated to the school, and 麻豆影院 put on a field day for the students. They all spent the afternoon playing soccer and volleyball and conducting relay races.聽聽

Wood said one of her favorite things about the day was seeing how dedicated some of the students were to their sport.聽聽

鈥淭hese boys ran all the way home, changed into their soccer uniforms and cleats, and came back because they wanted to show us how good they were at soccer,鈥� Wood said.聽聽

The day they were able to spend at the school was one of the most impactful parts of the entire trip for both Manzanera and Cao Le.聽聽聽

鈥淛ust seeing how happy the kids were to see us, to interact with us, how excited they were,鈥� Manzanera said, 鈥渢hat really made me very happy to see.鈥澛�

For Cao Le, the warm-heartedness of the kids made a big impact.聽聽

鈥淚 feel like a few hours of playing with the kids made my heart feel so much love and kindness,鈥� Cao Le said. 鈥淚 definitely want to come back to that school again, all because of the experience with the people in The Gambia, the local people. They are so amazing, kind, and warm-hearted.鈥澛�

Community-engaged learning

One of the benefits of traveling as part of the class, the students agreed, was that they were able to explore the country deeper and at a different pace than a tourist.聽

Kirkwood reflected on how the structure of the trip forced her outside of her comfort zone. Usually a planner and itinerary follower, she adapted to their pace and was able to 鈥済o with the flow.鈥澛犅�

鈥淚t really made me feel like I connected more with the people there,鈥� Kirkwood said, 鈥渁nd just kind of enjoyed their presence as they enjoyed mine, and that was really nice.鈥澛�

Without the class, Wood thought she wouldn鈥檛 have gotten the same experience in The Gambia.聽

鈥淕oing out into the cities, going into people鈥檚 homes, into the schools, I got to experience the country from a lot of its different aspects,鈥� Wood said. 鈥淚鈥檓 happy that I got the experience to travel there and do this kind of research.鈥澛�

On May 15, the students presented their research posters in Steitz Atrium. The posters remain on display in Briggs Hall.聽聽

A forward on the men’s basketball team, Sarancic believes in the importance of team camaraderie. He loves being a part of a team environment and going through shared successes and struggles with his peers.聽聽

Sarancic earned Academic All-District honors and was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, the national college athlete honor society. He also was able to study abroad in London for a term, which he describes as the 鈥渕ost influential and enjoyable 10 weeks鈥� of his time as an undergraduate.聽

鈥淚 think the ability for student-athletes to study abroad is one of the aspects of 麻豆影院 that makes it so appealing due to our trimester system,鈥� Sarancic said. 鈥淚 had to keep myself accountable, which I think is an incredibly beneficial skill.鈥澛�

Sarancic was able to study abroad in London while still enjoying his basketball season. Sarancic鈥檚 experiences on the team and abroad have helped him gain perspective he hopes to use in the field of law.聽聽

The past two summers have also been filled with opportunity for Sarancic, as he worked as a legal intern in Chicago for a private criminal law firm, Nishay K. Sanan, Esq. Sarancic spent his time under Sanan taking notes on cases, meeting clients, and sitting in on meetings.聽聽

“It was an incredible opportunity and I’m incredibly grateful for him,” Sarancic said.聽

After graduation, Sarancic looks forward to being part of a team again, this time in the legal field rather than on the basketball court. He will begin a two-year paralegal position in New York with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates. The job will expand on his previous experiences, working with about 20 team members.聽聽

“I am super excited for it,鈥� Sarancic said. 鈥淚’ll help out where needed, fill out paperwork, and learn the nuts and bolts of law.”聽

Set in 2006, the film depicts the Kingdom of Bhutan鈥檚 transition to democracy through an oft-humorous story involving a mock election, a valuable rifle that falls into the hands of a monk, an American antique weapons collector in pursuit, and villagers unmoved by material goods.

The Monk and the Gun earned the Showcase Audience Choice Award in Vancouver and the Special Jury Prize in Rome. And it鈥檚 been drawing stellar reviews.

Variety magazine called it a 鈥渄roll, shrewdly satirical fable, in which Western values crash against a seemingly intransigent (but potentially more enlightened) South Asian culture.鈥� The review praised Dorji as a 鈥済ifted storyteller who keeps audiences guessing about his characters鈥� motives until the surprising moment everything comes together.鈥�

Deadline predicted an Oscar nod for Dorji and the film: 鈥淣o sophomore jinx here, this one is even better than his first, and that is saying something.鈥滵orji, a Bhutan native, was a government major at 麻豆影院 and has said professors such as Claudena Skran, William Hixon, and Steven Wulf were instrumental in his studies. He returned to Bhutan following graduation and took up filmmaking about a decade later.

In an interview with The Wrap, Dorji said he鈥檚 still wrapping his head around the whirlwind journey he took when Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom went from an unknown film by a first-time Bhutanese filmmaker to a 2022 Oscar nominee.

鈥淚t can be quite challenging when you work that hard to make something and then people don鈥檛 even see it,鈥� Dorji said. 鈥淏ut as a Buddhist, I believe in karma, and I believe that if you have the right motivation and you work hard, things start turning around. And it was amazing to see the film go from this remote school (where the film was shot) and make its way through the world and end up as an Oscar nominee.鈥�

The Monk and the Gun explores new territory, set in the context of a shift to democracy, Dorji tells The Wrap.

鈥淚 really wanted to build on what I had achieved with聽Lunana聽and challenge myself as a storyteller,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 also wanted to play around with political satire and tell a story of my country in this state of transition.鈥�

The lecture, The War in Europe鈥攖he U.S. Stake in Ukraine鈥檚 Success, Is part of the 2023-24 Povolny Lecture Series in International Studies. It begins at 4:30 p.m. in Steitz Hall 102. A reception is planned for 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Greenwald is a retired senior U.S. diplomat, having spent more than 30 years focused on diplomacy between East-West, the Middle East, the European Union, and various aspects of international law. He spent the 1998-99 academic year teaching courses on the origins of war and the Cold War at 麻豆影院 under the auspices of the Scarff Professorship.

While international relations and journalism may seem like separate fields, Freeman鈥檚 studies and experiences have informed each other, she said. Through understanding the relationships between the press, the people, and their governments, Freeman is learning how to use media to create positive outcomes.

Freeman鈥檚 multiple areas of study, including her minors in anthropology and Chinese, have helped her pursue a broad variety of experiences, both on and off campus. She interned in Taiwan with a news company while studying abroad, and she studied the effects of media in Sierra Leone. Freeman said she loved studying media’s interactions with society, from on-the-ground discourse to governmental action.

麻豆影院鈥檚 small campus and involved professors make work and study opportunities more accessible, Freeman said. She has worked in the Office of Communications for four years and served as an editor for The Lawrentian, the student newspaper.

鈥淵ou have the opportunity to do more things here than at any other school,鈥� Freeman said.

Freeman will begin her graduate-level studies abroad, first at the London School of Economics and Political Science and then at Fudan University in Shanghai. Freeman is grateful for the Rotary Foundation鈥檚 sponsorship and can鈥檛 wait to connect with Rotary International in London.

鈥淭he Rotary is so international and involves so many people trying to do good around the world,” she said. “Having this 鈥榠n鈥� and connections abroad鈥鈥檓 hoping it鈥檒l expose me to different perspectives.鈥�

Freeman is excited to study in London, where journalism has a rich history. She said she鈥檚 seen firsthand how involved the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is in global media. She hopes studying close to this international news hub will allow her to further both her media and international relations knowledge.

Freeman said she plans to eventually work in nonprofit communications and advocate against harmful and stigmatizing narratives.