What do TAM Students do all Summer? | Transatlantic Masters

Today, on August 19th, fall 2024 classes started at Carolina. Our new students are here and awesome! Our returning students are also amazing and heading to Europe for year two of TAM. What did these Class of 2025 students do all summer? Some had cool jobs and internships; and some traveled and relaxed; and some learned languages. Read a few examples here:

Summer Adventures Across Europe – Kevin Bunga’25, now based in Grenoble, France, writes of his summer in Europe and his work as an intern for Carnegie Europe:

This summer has been an incredible mix of travel, work, and learning. I had the chance to visit the Netherlands, France, England, and Italy, soaking in everything from the canals of Amsterdam to the vibrant bustle of Milan. Each place had something special to offer, and I loved every minute of exploring these amazing countries.

But it wasn’t all just about travel. I kept busy with my internship at Carnegie Europe, where as a development intern, I helped find funding opportunities for our scholars and supported their projects. This role gave me a front-row seat into the important work they do, I learned even more about European foreign policy along the way. It was a great experience that let me see how ideas and research turn into action.

On the academic side, I also finished writing my internship thesis for Sciences Po Grenoble. Balancing everything was a bit of a challenge, but it felt good to keep pushing forward. Plus, all the new places I visited added fresh insights to my work, which made it all the more interesting.

All in all, this summer was a perfect blend of adventure, work, and study. I’m excited to see where these experiences take me next!

Evan Thomas’25 is pursuing the European Governance double degree track and will be studying at the University of Gothenburg during his second year of the program. Evan spent most of his summer interning with the Bertelsmann Foundation in Washington D.C., where he worked on the foundation’s Transatlantic Barometer online platform. During this time, he conducted research on policy related to digitalization, wrote entries for the Barometer website, as well as assisted with events and other side-projects. Outside of work, Evan enjoyed exploring Washington and taking advantage of the chance to network in D.C., which included meeting up with several TAM alumni now working in the city. He believes that the summer was very valuable for his professional development and encourages incoming TAM students to also start thinking about internships as early as they can and to take advantage of the many networking opportunities available to them during their time on campus at Chapel Hill. Evan will be spending the remainder of August preparing for his year abroad in Sweden and for his next internship, which will be a remote internship with the U.S. Department of State.

Jasmin Singh’25, also from the Class of 2025, writes:
This summer, I had the privilege of continuing my Turkish language and cultural studies through a U.S. Department of State Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) Summer Fellowship. During this fellowship, I participated in The Boğaziçi University summer immersion program. The program included language courses, cultural experiences such as dance classes and Turkish coffee cup readings as well as informative and engaging talks on topics such as democratic backsliding and religious history.

After spending a year at Chapel Hill cultivating my Turkish language skills, having the opportunity apply my language knowledge and immerse myself in the Turkish culture has been monumental for both my personal and academic growth. From gaining insights that will support my TAM thesis to exploring Türkiye with likeminded scholars, I am confident that this summer program will be a highlight of my TAM experience!