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Student Leadership: Sigma Iota Rho, Beta Chi Chapter


Member Biographies

Louise Place (LA '08) - President, Sigma Iota Rho
Louise is a double-major in International Relations and English. She has interned with Discovering Justice, Deval Patrick's gubernatorial campaign, Principle Pictures, MA Peace Action, the Epiphany School, and the International Institute of Boston. In addition, she spent a summer tutoring Mayan children in Guatemala. Last spring, she studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain, and traveled throughout Europe. This fall, she co-taught an Experimental College class entitled "Behind the Headlines: A Regional Approach to Global Current Issues." On campus, she is involved with the International Relations Mentor Program, Amnesty International, Tufts Democrats, Environmental Consciousness Outreach, Somerville Pen Pal Program, Outbreath, F.O.C.U.S., and sQ! a cappella. Off-campus, she is a student ambassador for the Huntington Theatre and campaigns for Barack Obama. She looks forward to graduating this May, after which she will volunteer with Camino Seguro, a non-profit organization in Guatemala. Afterwards, she hopes to find a "real" job and live in Washington DC!

Esther Kim (LA '09) - Vice President, Sigma Iota Rho
Born and raised in South Korea, and then living in Canada, Esther has been exposed to a variety of cultures her entire life.  She is majoring in International Relations and minoring in Communications and Media Studies at Tufts. She has been involved in many exciting extracurricular activities, including the IR Director's Leadership Council, the Tufts Korean Students Association and the Leonard Carmichael Society. She is very interested in current events, especially regarding conflict resolution, media, and the law. She is thrilled to be part of the Sigma Iota Rho and wishes to reach out to many IR majors and experts both inside and outside Tufts.

Pete Colombo (LA '08) - Secretary/Treasurer, Sigma Iota Rho
Pete is a native of Boston and was raised in a multicultural environment. His neighborhood and community fostered a growing curiosity for all things international. He studied abroad in Madrid for a year and volunteered at several NGOs including Adolescents at Risk. He is currently a volunteer at the Latin American Health Institute in Brockton. He worked as a researcher at the Jebsen Center for Counterterrorism Studies last fall and continues to focus his studies on international security, democratic consolidation and civilian-military relations.

Jessica Anderson (LA '08)
Jessica is an international relations and philosophy major with a minor in Africa in the New World. She is involved with Exposure, Tufts' photojournalism organization, and the Tufts Collaborative on Africa. She is also a writing fellow and a manager for Tufts Catering. Her interests include transitional justice and humanitarianism in Africa.

Leah Averitt (LA '08)
Leah is a senior from Indianapolis double majoring in International Relations and Chinese. In the fall of 2006, she studied abroad on the Tufts-in-China program. At Tufts, Leah advises other students on the IR major through her role as an IR mentor, and is a leader in the Tufts Christian Fellowship. Leah is also heavily involved in ALLES (the Alliance Linking Leaders in Education and the Services), a student-led initiative to increase civil-military relations at the undergraduate level. Through ALLIES, Leah attended the Student Conference on U.S. Affairs at West Point and a Leadership Conference at the U.S. Naval Academy. In the summer of 2007, she interned at the Indianapolis office of U.S. Senator Richard Lugar, minority leader on the Foreign Relations Committee. Leah is very excited to be graduating and is planning on pursuing a career in public government service.

Samantha Barthelemy (LA '08)
Samantha is a senior double-majoring in International Relations, concentrating in Peace, Justice and Conflict Resolution, and Political Science. She was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she spent all of her life before coming to Tufts. She spent her Junior year in Paris, studying International Law, International Relations and Political Science at the Institute of Political Science (Sciences Po). In 2007, Samantha interned at the Center for Peace and Human Security in Paris, where she developed a deeper interest towards conflict resolution, peace-building and human rights. Samantha is currently trying to get an internship at the United Nations, an organization she admires and has been dreaming to be part of for years.

Rachel Bergenfield (LA '09)
Rachel is an International Relations major, concentrating in "Global justice, conflict, and cooperation," and an Africa in the New World minor (undeclared). She is a Synaptic Scholar at the Institute for Global Leadership (IGL), the Senior Editor of Discourse Journal, and a former Tisch Citizenship and Public Service Scholar. Rachel focuses her studies and intends to build her career in relief, recovery, and transition during/after violent conflict, particularly in Africa. She is very interested in initiatives that aim to identify and address the unintended, negative consequences of such work. Rachel is part of the team that is Tufts' Project for Peace choice (2007-2008), through which she plans to return to northern Uganda this summer (2008) for a collaborative project documenting experiences with the use of "traditional" justice/reconciliation ceremonies for war-related crimes. Rachel studied abroad with the School for International Training in Cameroon, where she did a field study on barriers to justice in a specific province. She also traveled to Lagos, Nigeria on an IGL investigative research trip. Rachel interned for the Global Fairness Initiative, the Centre for Microfinance, a Public Defender's Office, and two political campaigns. She is from Princeton Junction, NJ.

Lidia Borisova (LA '09)
Lidia is from Sofia, Bulgaria, and is majoring in International Relations and minoring in Economics. Within International Relations, she is focusing on Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Presently, she is completing a four-month internship in Paris with the International Chamber of Commerce as a part of the Tufts-in-Paris study abroad program. Her other extra-curricular activities include the Tufts International Club, of which she is a sub-committee chair; Public Relations Officer for the Tufts European Club; and vice-president of the Tufts Russian Circle. She is also a part of the Sigma Iota Ro Career Committee.

Ara Cho (LA '08)
Ara is a senior double majoring in International Relations and Spanish. A first generation Korean-American, she is originally from Los Angeles, California and spent the past year in Alcala de Henares, Madrid studying at the Universidad de Alcala. She currently sits on the Tufts Community Union Senate as Asian Community Representative, co-facilitates Pan Asian Council, mentors two Korean adopted "little sisters," and sings in Tufts Third Day Gospel Choir. This past summer, she interned at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations in New York City where she served on Social, Cultural, Humanitarian (Third) Committee, and previously worked with Ayuda en Accion, Public Council, and Korean American Coalition.

Christine D'Aguillo (LA '08)
Christine is a senior International Relations major with a pre-med concentration. She was born and raised in New Jersey and spent part of her junior year abroad in Sevilla, Spain. She has also traveled with Tufts on the BUILD program to Siuna, Nicaragua to study sustainable development. She is involved with the Intercultural Conversation program at Tufts, and is the president of Jumbodance and Tufts Tap Ensemble, as well as an active member of 3P's, Tufts' student-run drama organization.

Sam duPont (LA '08)
Sam is a senior from Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, majoring in International Relations. After spending a summer in central China teaching English, he returned for the fall of his junior year to study Mandarin at Beijing University. He has concentrated much of his academic work at Tufts on US-China political and economic relations. This past summer, Sam focused his attention on journalism, writing and editing for Foreign Policy magazine. He then traveled to Kashmir, where he practiced his photojournalism skills firsthand in a workshop with EXPOSURE. In addition to taking pictures and writing, Sam plays ultimate frisbee with the Tufts E-Men, hikes in the White Mountains and feels passionately about crossword puzzles.

Ben Gabin (LA '08)
Ben comes from Rutherfordton, North Carolina, and is an International Relations major with a focus on Latin America. He spent his junior year studying abroad on the Tufts-in-Chile program.

Anastasia Ganina (LA '08)
Anastasia was born in Moscow, Russia and raised in New York City. She is a senior pursuing a degree in International Relations and Economics, and her focus within the International Relations major is International Finance. She spent the spring semester of her junior year studying abroad in Hong Kong and loved the opportunity to travel around China and Southeast Asia. Her interest in international finance has allowed her to intern at a number of financial institutions focusing on international markets. At Tufts, she has been actively involved in the Tufts Financial Group, Tufts Mock Trial, and the Tufts Daily Business Department.

Jeff Goldberg (LA '08)
Jeff is a senior at majoring in International Relations with a regional concentration on Latin America, and a minor in Economics. This past summer, he worked as a consultant in the Department of Sustainable Development of the Organization of American States, where he helped organize the VI Inter-American Dialogue on Water Resource Management in Guatemala City. He also presented original research there. Currently, Jeff is interning at ACCION International, where he is engaged in various projects pertaining to ACCION's expansion as a leader in the microfinance industry. On campus, Jeff is captain of the men's Varisity Swimming and Diving team and an active member of Tisch College's Citizenship and Public Service Scholar's program, through which he co-coordinates the Community Language Bank in Somerville, an organization that provides affordable translation and interpretation services to the greater Somerville community. Last year, he studied abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina and hopes to return there next year.

Olga Gomonova (LA '09)
Olga is a junior at Tufts University majoring in International Relations with a concentration in International Finance, and a minor in Economics. Before matriculating at Tufts, Olga studied linguistics for 4 semesters in Tula State University in Tula, Russia. On campus, she is involved with the Russian Circle and Sigma Iota Rho IR Honor Society Social Committee. Living in Boston for the past three years has allowed her to participate in many charities and fundraisers for non-profit such as Mt. Auburn Hospital, New England Hospice, Faulkner Hospital and the Faulkner Breast Cancer organization. She spent 9 months interning in the development office of Epiphany School for disadvantaged children. Additionally, Olga is a Director's Circle member of the Institute for Contemporary Arts, Boston. Since 2006, Olga has been sponsoring a child located in Shousha, Egypt, through the "Save the Children" organization. She spent much of the last two summers in Europe, particularly in France, for the purpose of perfecting a third language.

Angi Kang (LA '08)
Angi is a senior double-majoring in International Relations, with a focus on Nationalism, Culture and Identity, and Community Health, Angi was born in South Korea and raised in New Jersey. She has been involved in multiple performances with the Tufts Drama Department, and is a member of the IR Director's Leadership Council and director of the Tufts Timmy Foundation Club. Angi spent spring semester of her junior year in Spain, and the following summer in South Korea. She is excited to be back on campus and working with Sigma Iota Rho during her last semester at Tufts.

Lauren Kari (LA '08)
Lauren grew up in Los Angeles California, and is a senior majoring in International Relations with a focus on Foreign Policy Analysis. An Arabic minor, she studied abroad in Egypt for the first half of her junior year. In the second half, she participated in the Tufts-in-Washington Program. She was a member of the 2005-2006 EPIIC Colloquium entitled "The Politics of Fear." She is interested in the intersection between development and security studies, and is excited about graduating and finding a job in the "real world".

Jamie Kraut (LA '08)
Jamie is a senior double majoring in International Relations and French. As an active board member of the "Moral Voices" social action committee, she pursues her passion for humanitarian affairs and alleviating global economic injustice. While studying abroad in Paris during her Junior year (2006-2007), she interned at the U.S. Embassy in the Office of Defense Cooperation, and spent her summer working at the U.S. Commercial Service of the Department of Commerce at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. Previously, Jamie interned at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency in Washington, D.C. as an arms control policy analyst. She is from Great Barrington, Massachusetts, but hopes to spend next year living and working abroad.

Jamie Morgan (LA '08)
Jamie is a senior at Tufts, where she is pursuing a major in International Relations with a concentration in Foreign Policy Analysis, and a minor in English. She is from Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. She has interned at a variety of organizations, including the International Crisis Group in Washington, DC; the Program on International Policy Attitudes; and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. She was also an International Relations Summer Scholar, through which she did research on public opinions on genocide and military interventions. At Tufts she has been actively involved in Pangea, the Tufts Community Union Judiciary, and the Judicial Advocates, and currently writes for Tufts' magazine Required Reading, as well as other publications on campus. Last year, she studied in Bologna, Italy, and a month volunteering in Nairobi and Maseki, Kenya.

Rita Reznikova (LA '08)
Rita was born in Moscow, Russia and grew up in Swampscott, Massachusetts, forty minutes north of Boston. She is an International Relations major, focusing on Global Conflict, Cooperation and Justice, with a minor in Communications/Mass Media Studies. She also focuses a great deal on Europe and the former Soviet Union, and Latin America. She has held internship positions at the Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Improper Bostonian Magazine, Boston Media Productions at WGBH, and the Division of Social Medicine and Health Inequalities at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Rita studied abroad in Madrid, Spain for the duration of the 2006-2007 academic year. At Tufts, she writes for the Tufts Daily and sings in the University Chorale.

Patrick Roath (LA '09)
Patrick is an International Relations major with a concentration in Foreign Policy Analysis, and a minor in English. Originally from southern Connecticut, he is a member of the Sigma Iota Ro Academic Committee, and a managing editor at the Tufts Observer magazine. This past summer he worked at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City. Academically, his interests include public diplomacy, journalism, and development strategy.

Chloe Rossen (LA '08)
Chloe, a senior originally from the northern suburbs of Chicago, is double-majoring in International Relations and Economics. Her concentration in International Relations is in International Trade, but she is interested in many topics, especially economic development. Chloe spent the spring of her junior year studying abroad in Madrid, Spain, an experience which increased her love of languages, learning about different cultures, and traveling. At Tufts, Chloe is part of the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Services Scholars Program, through which she has done much work in the neighboring communities, and an active member of the varsity sailing team and Hillel. She is also an International Relations mentor and a tour guide. Chloe interned at the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and the Jewish Women's Foundation in Chicago in the summer of 2006 and at the Boston Consortium on Gender, Security, and Human Rights during the summer of 2007.

Constantin Sabet d'Acre (LA '09/ Fletcher MALD '10)
Originally from Paris, France, Constantin is a triple major in International Relations, Quantitative Economics and Mathematics. Within the International Relations major, his focus is on international finance. He is also presently earning a master's in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School as a part of the dual degree program with Tufts. He is involved in the Tufts financial Group, the Tufts European Club, and working on the Computers for Cambodia Committee as a part of Pangea.

Nina Scheinman (LA '08)
Nina is a senior majoring in International Relations. Born and raised in Tanzania, her interests are in Africa and in African development. She was a member of the 2005-2006 EPIIC Colloquium and, with the support of EPIIC and the Institute of Global Leadership, conducted research on the needs of women in Freetown, Sierra Leone. After returning from Sierra Leone, Nina participated in the Tufts-in-Washington program and interned at the Council on Foreign Relations. At Tufts she is involved in the Tufts Collaborative on Africa.

Jacki Silbermann (LA '08)
Jacki is a double-major in International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies. She is currently co-coordinator of the Tufts New Initiative for Middle East Peace, an organization committed to education and dialogue on the Arab-Israeli conflict, and led the group's winter 2008 fact-finding mission in Syria. In the fall of her junior year she studied in Amman, Jordan, and spent time traveling to various places in the Middle East. At Tufts, she also plays on the women's Ultimate Frisbee team and works on a children's literacy initiative. Her interests include progressive education, and human rights law.

Jillian Soucy (LA '08)
Jillian is a senior double majoring in International Relations, with a regional concentration on Latin America, and Economics. She studied abroad during the fall of junior year with Tufts-in-Madrid in Alcalá, Spain. In addition to Spanish, Jillian has started studying French. She has interned for four summers with the Boston branch of a large international business in the global logistics industry. Last winter break, she interned at their office in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On campus, Jillian has performed with Tufts Dance Collective and played a role in Pangea, Tufts Economics Society, Cores, worked with the Men's Lacrosse Team, and is now part of SIR, the Tufts International Relations Honor Society. She is excited to graduate in May and to enter the private sector.

Julia Torgovitskaya (LA '09)
Julia was born in Moscow, Russia and grew up in Los Angeles, CA. She is triple-majoring in International Relations, Russian and East European Studies, and Music and minoring in Philosophy. Her concentration within the IR major is Regional and Comparative Analysis: Europe and the Former Soviet Union, and she is part of the Sigma Iota Rho Career Committee. Her extra-curricular activities include singing (opera), dancing, studying languages (she's working on her 6th one!), and the Tufts Russian Circle, of which she has been president for two years. Over the past several years she has been traveling around the world: Two summers ago, she lived in Rome, Italy and sang in three operas; she studied abroad in Talloires, France last summer; and she plans to study abroad in Vienna, Austria this coming summer.

Jessie Waters (LA '08)
Jessie is from Los Angeles, California, and is majoring in International Relations and History. She spent her junior spring in the Tufts-in-Paris program and is part of the Sigma Iota Rho Social Committee. Her other extracurricular activities include the History Society and History Journal, of which she is on the executive board, and running BookMatch, an after-school program in Medford.

Jason Yeager (LA '10)
Jason is a third-year student in the five-year Tufts/New England Conservatory Dual Degree Program. At Tufts, his concentration within the field of International Relations is Global Conflict, Cooperation, and Justice. At the New England Conservatory, he is majoring in Jazz Piano Performance. Jason is a co-leader of the Buddhist Sangha at Tufts, a member of the Sigma Iota Ro Academic Committee, and a former intern for Corporate Accountability International. He plans to intern for the Clinton Foundation this summer, and to study abroad at the University of Buenos Aires in the fall.

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