Alumni Spotlight

On a snowy Tuesday April 4, 2023, over 30 IAFS students and alumni gathered in the CU Boulder Chancellor's Hall for networking and the opportunity to hear from former Ambassador Daniel Smith (HIST '77). The event began with time for students and alumni to mingle, network, and get to know...

Date : Tuesday, April 18 Time : 5:30-7pm (MT) Location : University Club, Room 4 (basement of University Club) Dinner will be provided, RSVPs are required . Join us for dinner and a discussion with Veronica Baker, founder of The Global Climbing Initiative and Ascent Admissions , as she shares...

Stephanie Ahlgrain graduated from CU Boulder in 2013 with a double major in International Affairs and Anthropology. While at CU, Stephanie received a Global Grant to participate in the CIEE Nicaragua: Managua Social Justice and Development study abroad program. Her experiences abroad and her interest in locally-led social and environmental...

Benjamin Lourie graduated from CU Boulder in 2016 with a double major in International Affairs and Russian. You can read about Ben's Global Grant scholarship experience in the spring of 2015 when he studied at St. Petersburg State University. After graduating from CU, Ben received a Fulbright grant in Russia...

When Anna Iwanciw (IntlAf’22) was in high school, her class watched the documentary Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret , prompting her to become a vegetarian and reduce her personal carbon footprint. Iwanciw feels her education directly impacted her views on climate change. And now she wants all women to have access...

Rory Burke (IAFS ’03) is the Projects and Operations Director of the award-winning international non-profit organization, Skateistan . Through their innovative skateboarding and education programs, Skateistan empowers around 3000 youth aged 5-17 in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and South Africa. Their focus is on groups who are often excluded from sports and...

Here’s a story Walker Kosmidou-Bradley (IntlAf’09) tells about his early life with maps: On a Boy Scout backpacking expedition up a slot canyon in southern Utah, when he was about 17, he and the hikers he was leading plotted their course along a river using U.S. Geographical Survey quads —...

The idea for a potentially game-changing way to help poor people see better hit Philip Staehelin as he floated above a peaceful snowscape on a ski lift in the Czech mountains. Philip Staehelin’s (IAFS/Econ. '91) vision for the future: fit millions of glasses annually. “I want to prove that a...

James Souza (IAFS ’10) always had an interest in the Middle East, but it was his close friends in the Smith Hall International Program (SHIP) that encouraged him to switch from Chinese to Arabic studies. SHIP is the precursor of what is now known as the Global Studies Residential Academic...

Maya Friedli-Schroeder Jordan Thomas Congratulations to Maya Friedli-Schroeder and Jordan Thomas for being recipients of the Fulbright Scholarship for AY 2018-2019 . Ten CU Boulder students and alumni have been honored with prestigious awards to study and conduct research in locations around the globe. Eight CU students have been offered...