Giulia Barnhisel (IAFS ’16) credits a summer internship in Belgium and her senior honors thesis for starting her professional path in international migration and refugee policy. As her understanding of worldwide refugee issues increased, so did her passion to become involved with humanitarian assistance programs. After graduation, she worked for New Era Colorado, encouraging young voters to participate in U.S. elections, and used her spare time to apply for professional opportunities in international migration. In November 2016, the day after the U.S. Presidential election, Barnhisel was offered a highly-competitive internship with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) in Denmark. Four weeks later, she boarded a plane and moved to Copenhagen.
Barnhisel works in the migration agency of UNHCR and her role focuses on private sector fundraising. Specifically, she handles high impact donor accounts, develops projects, and reports on nine countries with projects starting soon. “Currently, I am researching how climate change impacts refugee agricultural activities,” explains Barnhisel.
This data will assist the UNHCR in developing innovative projects to find sustainable agricultural activities for refugees living in camps and protracted situations. For the past three months, she has found her work to be highly informative and rewarding. When her internship contract is completed, Barnhisel hopes to advance her career in international migration with a fieldwork position, ideally in Europe or Africa.