Great Decisions 2009-2010 Coordinating Committee Angela Chen, Committee Co-Chair Angela is a senior studying Political Science ,
Journalism and Mass Communication, and Chinese. After her undergraduate studies at
Chapel Hill, Angela intends to attend law
school and one day pursue a career in
International Communication and Media
Law. For the past year she has been writing
for The China Star, a newspaper serving
several Southeastern states. She spent a
semester studying abroad in Xiamen
and two summers teaching English in Taipei
and various cities in Japan. In her free time,
Angela enjoys traveling, reading, dining in
and dining out, and yoga.
Taylor Isenberg, Committee Co-Chair Taylor Jo Isenberg is a senior Peace, War, and Defense and International Studies major. She is completely unprepared for that whole life-after-college thing, but after a semester interning in Washington, DC with the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, study abroad in Egypt, Burch Fellowship in Israel, and an internship with Carolina for Kibera in Kenya, she is pretty sure its going to be something where people pay her to travel. More specifically (kind of), her interests lie in the intersection of conflict, security, socio-economic development, and politics. Her unhealthy obsessions include GoogleReader, foreign policy, coffee, and epic movie soundtracks. She is also a fan of camping, random adventures, music, books, international food, wit, inappropriate laughter, and the mountains.
James Ding, Outreach Chair James is a sophomore Political Science and International Studies major from New York, NY. Born in China, he continues to be passionate about Chinese culture and politics. This past summer he taught American civics to sixth graders in New Orleans as part of Breakthrough Collaborative. After his undergraduate years, James plans to pursue a Juris Doctorate and eventually a career in U.S.-Sino trade law. James enjoys editorial writing, traveling, good music, and ethnic cuisine.
Andrea Hubert, Publicity Co-Chair Andrea is a sophomore majoring in International Business and minoring in Chinese from Washington DC. She is an avid traveler and has spent a year studying in Spain, and her summers traveling through Southeast Asia, Central and South America. This past summer she spent volunteering and studying in China. She loves learning new languages, trying new foods and being active.
Abhinav Komandur, Publicity Co-Chair I'm a junior with a major in taking classes with workloads that make me cry. I hope, abstractly, to emerge with a few public health-related degrees before age 30; however, there's a part of me that hopes the prediction of an apocalypse in 2012 is true, so I won't have to actually enter the workforce. I lived in India from birth to age 4ish, go back frequently to the point where I'm too broke to go anywhere else, and plan on returning permanently as soon as it's convenient. I've lived mostly in NC, but also in St. Louis and Cleveland. I play rugby badly, try to travel but end up being too broke to do so (see above), love being at UNC, think mid-90s PBS is better than our primary education system, and enjoy not being a tourist.
Gregor MacLennan, Social Chair Hailing from the land of whisky and golf, Gregor MacLennan is a sophomore Political Science and Latin double major. Gregor enjoys wearing kilts, mocking the English and playing his bagpipes. When not doing this, Gregor can be found playing rugby, or arguing with Americans about what certain words mean in 'American English.' Gregor has been fortunate to travel extensively; he has played the bagpipes in Japan, taught in Mozambique and trekked in Greece. With this, he hopes to bring not only to bring a funny accent to the Great Decisions team, but an understanding of the issues we face internationally.
Sara Wise, Treasurer Sara Wise is a Senior majoring in Public Policy and German. She is an active participant in the German Club. Sara's hobbies include traveling, reading, journaling, cooking, watching movies, and enjoying German beverages. She also enjoys long walks on the beach and she wants to be an expert surfer one day. Sara has already begun planning her graduation trip, so if you have any travel suggestions, please let her know. On a more serious note, Sara's academic interests include immigration policy, nuclear energy, and the European Union.
Celeste Lascurain, Webmaster Celeste Lascurain is a senior from Caracas, Venezuela majoring in International Studies with minors in Hispanic Studies and Advertising. Her current US residence (besides Chapel Hill) is South Florida where she enjoys the beach and city life. Constantly traveling back and forth between the U.S. and Latin America has given her an interesting perspective on what is taking place in Latin America. She speaks English, Spanish and Italian, and hopes to one day be fluent in French and Mandarin as well.
Hana Ahmed Hana is a sophomore, majoring in Peace, War and
Defense and Philosophy. Literature, current
events, writing, and movies take up most of her
time when she's not cooking/eating. Food is fun.
She hails from Orlando, FL and dislikes the heat.
Maryam Al-Zoubi Hi! I am a senior International and Arabic Studies major with a minor in Social and Economic Justice. I have lived my whole life in Raleigh, NC, and have never wanted to go to any other university other than UNC. I am a third year Resident Advisor (the fun kind). I enjoy spending time with my residents, switching between the roles of friend, advisor, fellow student and even classmate. I have spent my last two summers in Syria and Turkey, respectively, interviewing and researching the status of Muslim women in each country. I am currently writing my thesis this year on that subject. Ask me about it if you want; I love talking about it. I am currently applying for law schools so everyone keep your fingers crossed! I plan to have a career in human rights law, specifically working with sex trafficking and domestic violence. If you want to talk, please feel free to email me and we can get coffee sometime!
Yaniv Barzilai Yaniv Barzilai is a junior Peace, War, and Defense and
History major, with a
minor in
Arabic. From Charlotte, Yaniv is a Public Service
Scholar, working his first summer in
Kenya with the organization Carolina for
Yosha Gunasekera Yosha is a Junior Political Science and Archaeology double major. She spent this past summer interning at the Public Defender’s Service in DC, which further fostered her interest in the criminal justice system and law in general. She has been fortunate enough to travel the world, and is especially fond of traveling to Sri Lanka as much of her cultural heritage lies there. Her favorite things include Sunday brunch, spontaneous dance parties, and singing off-key in the car.
Kelly Kilburn Kelly is a senior Public Policy and International Studies major from Raleigh, NC. This past summer I was in Kenya researching the implications of democratic governance on development progress in light of the post-election violence of 2008 while also interning for UNICEF in Nairobi. I have spent a semester “abroad” in Washington, DC interning for the EPA and have come to realize that I love the city and will probably end up moving there after graduation. My long-term goal, however, is to go to law school but I am happy to put that off for a while! My interests include anything outdoors including backpacking, rock climbing, and kayaking but I also really enjoy a good cup of tea, trains, and spontaneous adventures.
Greg Margolis Greg Margolis is a senior political science major, born in Ann Arbor, MI and raised in Chapel Hill, NC. Although he happens to attend UNC, he is a die-hard Duke basketball fan - something that will never change. He spent the past semester living in and loving Capital Federal, Argentina. He enjoys Old-Time fiddling and one day hopes to play as well as Bruce Molsky.
John McElwee John McElwee is a senior majoring Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies with a minor in Creative Writing. He spent this past summer in Arkansas. He enjoys dancing.
Colleen McGary Colleen is a senior Chemistry major with a minor in Social and Economic Justice. Born and raised in Lewisville, North Carolina (home and training ground of NBA star Chris Paul), her greater interests in global health and human rights have led her to travel to the Dominican Republic, Namibia, Zambia, Peru, and Bolivia. With hopes of becoming a biomedical research scientist, Colleen spends much of her time in a pathology lab on campus. However, aside from the lab, she also enjoys dancing (especially learning to salsa), listening to music from all parts of the world, singing showtunes, playing in every intramural imaginable with her “But We Look Good” teammates, and searching for any possible way for her and her sister to be cast for “The Amazing Race.”
Alastair Monty I'm a Junior political science major with minors in French and creative writing, from London, England. I (will have just come back from) a semester abroad in Paris, studying French. This summer I've been following the Silk Road in Asia, and last summer I taught in a school in Namibia. I love photography, creative writing, rugby and playing piano. My favorite country I have been to is Lebanon. This is my second time round teaching Great Decisions, and third spring involved with the program. Pumped!
Alex Savtchenko I’m a senior Peace, War, and Defense major with a double major in International Studies. I was born in the Soviet Union, and came to the States in time to start school. Before coming to Chapel Hill, I lived all over America and took last fall semester to study in London. Partly due to moving around so much, I speak five languages. I’m greatly interested in international peacekeeping organizations and efforts and hope to one day work for the UN. As soon as I’m given a chance (graduation), I’m moving to Europe.
Allie Treske Hey! I'm Allie Treske, a senior double majoring in international studies and political science. I'm originally from Seattle, WA and currently live in Charlotte, NC. I'm a member of the UNC Club Gymnastics team and have been doing gymnastics all my life. I studied abroad twice, in Canberra, Australia and Geneva, Switzerland. I'm interested in just about everything, but I will be the first to admit that I am not and never will be a "science person”.
Dr. Jonathan Weiler, Faculty Advisor (jweiler@email.unc.edu) Director of Undergraduate Studies and Adjunct Assistant Professor of International and Area Studies
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