Amelia Stastney is an IS major undergraduate in the Culture in the Age of Globalization track who has received funding to travel to Japan to present her research. We asked Amelia to give us a brief description of her scholarship and what she plans to present:
“This summer I will be traveling to Japan to work with other young undergraduate and graduate students from the US and Japan. I received the Ichiro and Toyoko Matsudaira Memorial Fund scholarship from the UW to participate in the program. The Japan-America Student Conference (or JASC) has been running since 1934 (and this is 71st conference). Young members have included Henry Kissinger and Kiichi Miyazawa (former Japanese Prime Minister). I was inspired to apply after writing a paper for Professor Tyrell Haberkorn’s class, “Communism, Anarchism and Other Asian Lefts,” about Kanno Sugako, a Japanese anarchist in the 1890’s. It is this paper which also earned me a spot in this conference where I will be discussing Human Rights in Asia in Tokyo, Kyoto, Gifu and Kochi.”
“I actually found out about this opportunity on the IS Major Facebook page, and Molly has been the most helpful resource.”
After her time in Japan, Amelia plans to work on an accelerated Masters of International Public Affairs at La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison. She will be taking both undergraduate classes and graduate classes next year, and will graduate with her Bachelor of Science in May 2020 and her MIPA (Masters in International Public Affairs) in May 2021. After graduation, she plans to work in refugee policy at an international level, as an advocate for refugee policy, or in the State Department or CIA.
We concluded by asking Amelia what her best advice is to students interested in a job or career track similar to hers:
“My BIGGEST piece of advice is to get involved in what you love as soon as possible. When I was a freshman at UW, I was awarded a grant from the Center of Humanities, which allowed me to create and run an afterschool program at a local Madison school that taught lessons on intersectional feminism. Not only was this award a massive honor, but it also allowed me to grow my leadership and administrative skills. I learned how to run a program at every level (from on the ground to on an administrative level). I learned how to manage 30+ kids and how to fill out multiple grant awards. This is an experience very unique to young applicants and it has opened many doors for me.”
These generous grants are allowing students like Amelia to conduct amazing research in their unique areas of interest. She is just one of many IS students doing incredible things here at UW!
Congratulations, Amelia!
UW-Madison participation in JASC each year is made possible by the generous contribution and efforts of JASC alumnus (1992 and1993) and International Sctudent Conferences Board Member Mr. Andrew Seaborg, who established the “Ichiro and Toyoko Memorial Scholarship” in memory of his Japanese host parents. The award is administered through the Center for East Asian Studies. Please contact Laurie Dennis with any further questions about this program.
Interview conducted by IS Communications Intern, Abby Manske