A graduate of the European and Mediterranean Studies program (CEMS), Erica Lee currently works for the Department of Defense in Washington, DC, where she finds herself drawing on her graduate experience on a daily basis. “All I do in my job is write, write, write. I write and research every day, so my time at GSAS really helped hone and polish those skills.” During her program, Erica found a community who supported one another. “My cohort and I used to call ourselves the ‘CEMS gems,’ and we still stay in touch.” It was this intimate association of scholars that really appealed to her; although she was also accepted to other prestigious master’s programs, she chose GSAS because, “It was for masters students, and it focused on us. The whole college was dedicated to our cause, and that really stood out to me.” And so did the opportunities that came along with it.
During her program, Erica not only took advantage of an internship offer to go abroad, but also participated in the acclaimed GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge, in which she was a finalist in 2013. She spent the last semester of her master’s program in Paris, where she researched advocacy organizations through Le CRAN (Conseil Représentatif des Associations Noires). “The experience was so eyeopening,” she recalls, “I met with and interviewed politicians to discuss their focus and agendas.” This fieldwork became her thesis, which explored race politics in France. Erica also highlighted the professional benefits of competing in the Threesis. “I often give presentations in my job, so Threesis really helped equip me in that professional regard. It forced me to assume no prior knowledge of my audience and taught me how to synthesize crucial information in a way that is understandable. GSAS has opened up a lot of doors, not just for me but for my cohort as well, and we are all grateful for that.” Erica is an active member of the MCAA Washington, DC chapter.
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