Alumni Profiles
The field of international relations is a broad one, encompassing opportunities in ‘classic’ IR professions such as employment at the State Department or an intelligence service, or careers in areas including environmental policy, media, and the corporate sector. Our alumni have gone on to enriching careers in many different fields. For statistical information on our graduates’ careers, click here. Below we present profiles of a few of our alumni.
Ana Pantelić: Communication Specialist, USAID
Ana Pantelić received her BS in Communication (2007) and her MA in International Relations (2008) from Boston University. She wrote her Master’s research paper on “Poverty Alleviation in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Comparative Analysis of Microfinance and Conditional Cash Transfers.” Upon graduating, she spent a year working as a language and cultural auxiliary in a bilingual public school in Madrid, Spain.
After her year in Spain, Ana moved to Belgrade, Serbia. In July 2009, she presented findings from her Master’s research paper at the 15th International Sustainable Development Research Conference in The Netherlands, where she was also selected to speak at the closing plenary session panel and debate. She continues to pursue her research interest in sustainable development as she works toward a PhD at the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Political Sciences.
Ana is currently working as a Communication Specialist for the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Municipal Economic Growth Activity (MEGA) program. The MEGA program is a local economic development project funded by USAID. The purpose of the project is to develop the skills of local governments and local business groups to foster economic growth and job creation, assist them to put these concepts and skills into practice, and to create a business friendly environment where the local private sector can flourish.
Sebastián Royo: Associate Dean, Suffolk University
Sebastián Royo graduated from Boston University with an MA in International Relations & Master of Business Administration (1993) and a PhD in Political Science (1998). Upon graduation, he accepted a faculty position at Suffolk University’s Government Department in Boston, MA, where he has taught courses in Comparative Politics, European Politics, International Relations, and Political Economy.
In October of 2004, Royo was named director of the Campus that Suffolk University has in Madrid, Spain, one of only two fully accredited American campuses in Spain. He became Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Suffolk University’s Boston campus in the summer of 2006. In this capacity, he is responsible for academic assessment and accreditation for the College. In addition to the Madrid campus, he also oversees Suffolk University’s other off-site campuses/programs in Dean College and Cape Cod Community College, international and study abroad programs for the College, and College- related SU Dakar Campus issues.
Royo’s has published six books and numerous articles. He writes a regular column for the Spanish daily Cinco Dias.
Charles Hernick: Associate at The Cadmus Group
After graduating in the spring of 2006 with an MA in IR & Environmental Policy, I spent a year working on invasive species, and then started a new job working on water sustainability issues.
I worked in the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, which was especially concerned about invasive species that make lakes, rives, and beaches inhospitable for humans and native species alike. Invasive species are plants and animals from other parts of the globe that damage ecosystems and the economy when they are introduced to a new environment. Working for the state, our goal was to limit the potential for negatives impacts in Massachusetts, not by limiting connections with the world, but by focusing on high risk species and pathways.
In 2007, I started at The Cadmus Group, Inc., an environmental consulting firm in Boston. The projects I work on are focused on making drinking water systems more sustainable. Freshwater deposits and sources are unequally distributed both within the United States and across the world. People, however, are everywhere. The challenge is to find a balance between consumption and conservation that will succeed in the long term. Although our clients are mostly domestic, we increasingly work with developing countries to help ensure that drinking water is safe, water sources are protected, and ground and surface waters are of the highest quality. Looking back, the time I spent in the IR Department helped prepare me for both of these jobs by broadening my background on national and international actors, institutions, policies, and interests relevant to my work in the environmental field.
Joseph Mroszczyk: Honors Fellow, Department of Homeland Security
Joseph Mroszczyk graduated from Boston University with a BA in Political Science and History (2007) and an MA in IR & Religion (2008). Joe is now an Honors Fellow at the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, DC.
The Fellowship is a two-year professional development program, based in the DHS Office of Policy, designed to recruit students from top graduate programs throughout the country. Fellows participate in three, eight-month rotations in different DHS component offices, including at least one rotation in the Office of Policy. Fellows get a chance to visit local think tanks to speak with scholars, travel to local and national sites to view DHS operational components, and participate in other unique opportunities. For example, Joe organized a trip for the Fellows to El Paso, TX, to view Southwest Border operations and receive tours and briefings from DHS officials. He has also toured the West Wing of the White House, the Secret Service training facility, the Customs and Border Protection Canine Training Center, and operations at Dulles Airport.
Joe is currently on rotation in the DHS Science and Technology Directorate’s Human Factors/Behavioral Sciences Division. This Division develops and applies the social, behavioral, and physical sciences to improve identification and analysis of threats, enhance societal resilience, and integrate human capabilities into the development of technology. Joe has been involved in areas such as community resilience and biometrics.