Lydia Nyachieo

2021 Newman Family Scholarship Recipient

My name is Lydia Nyachieo and I am a rising senior studying International Studies and Philosophy with minors in French and African Studies.

Growing up here in Madison, my West African mom would tell me tidbits about the history and culture of different places in Africa, so I had a slight interest in global affairs before coming to UW. However, I didn’t consider the major until I took International Studies 101 after my freshman year. I was drawn in by the interdisciplinarity of the field – which incorporates history, culture, geography, economics, and politics from different parts of the world – and by how it gave critical insights into the different dynamic realities that underlie many international issues. Through various courses, such as Global Poverty and Inequality and Sociology of Developing Societies, I’ve become increasingly interested in issues around social and economic inequality and exploitation, global interdependencies, and equitable, sustainable development.

Throughout my time in the International Studies major, I’ve enjoyed studying other languages, including continuing to study French and starting to learn Swahili. I’m also a staff writer and editor for the Wisconsin International Review, a UW–Madison online foreign policy magazine, where I write on underreported global affairs.

This summer, I’m thankful to have the opportunity to do a virtual UW International Internship with the Associated Center for Agro-Based Development (ACADES), a Malawian organization that helps youth farmers in central Malawi with their agro-businesses. I’m also working as a virtual intern with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, an independent think tank based in Chicago, IL that seeks to provide insight into critical global issues. After graduating from UW–Madison, I hope to go to graduate school for international affairs and thereafter find ways I can best contribute what I’ve learned to help global communities that bear the brunt of different economic and social inequalities.

I want to say a sincere thanks to all of my professors, TAs, and IS advisors who have fueled my interest and expanded my perspectives on these international issues, as well as to the Newman Family for this award.

Some of Lydia’s published work:
· Thoughts on Identity, Diaspora, and Travel from a Non-Traveler (As Yet), March 2021
· The Imbonerakure: A Key Roadblock to Burundi’s Political and Civil Liberties, April 2020
· Economic Justice in Africa: Why We Should Pay Attention to President Addo’s Speech on Poverty, October 2019