>> I originally was a political science major at the American Red Cross.
I've always been passionate about politics.
And I had had an internship in high school with the local democratic headquarters.
And I took -- through that major, I took my first international politics class
and just really got the bug for all things international.
My junior year, I actually did a program called Semester at Sea,
where you spend a semester living on a cruise ship and you take courses while you are
on that ship, and then you port in about nine or 10 different countries.
You completely circumnavigate the globe.
So that really opened my eyes to a world were not everyone has the privileges and rights
that we do in the United States, and I really became passionate at that time about going
into international development and maybe seeing what I can do to contribute to the world.
After leaving Rollins College, I went to --
I moved up to Washington D.C. because I thought that's where the action is,
and I got my master's degree at George Washington's Elliott School
of International Affairs and I concentrated in development and humanitarian assistance.
That was a really great program and gave me a really good background on a lot
of different international issues.
Then when I left graduate school, I went to the hill, because I thought I should see
if this politics thing is really something I am ready to give up.
And it turns out I was.
So I spend four months as an intern on the hill.
I spent a little bit of time then temping with a domestic non-profit while I was looking
for that really international affairs-focused job.
And that hill internship, although I decided congress wasn't for me,
actually helped me get my first job in international affairs at a non-profit,
non-partisan think-tank here in D.C. called the Council on Foreign Relations.
They deal exclusively with international issues.
And I did congressional relations for them, so it was a great way
to match my previous experience on the hill with my passion for international affairs.
And I would work with members of Congress and their staff.
I would bring our experts from the council over to the hill.
And then that brought me to the American Red Cross.
I really loved being at a think-tank, but I wanted to be with an organization
that was actually doing work on the ground and be a part of that.