Class of 2026

 

John Angrilla has lived and grown up in Apex, North Carolina and attended Shaw University for four years completing his undergraduate degree in Political Science while participating on the varsity soccer team. John will be studying in Barcelona, Spain in the Climate policy track. John has also participated in The Fund for American Studies in the Leadership and the American Presidency track in Washington, DC under the Ronald Reagan Institute and George Mason University. After graduation John worked in the fields of international development, international relations, international policy, as well as state and local level government affairs.

 

James Bryan is from Atlanta and graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in International Affairs in 2022. While at Tech, James spent a summer across Europe studying EU and national institutions, and later a semester at the University of Leeds in the department of Politics and International Studies. His research interests lie primarily within comparative politics and the politics of national identity, and he plans to spend his second TAM year at The Humboldt University of Berlin on the European Governance track.

 

Martha Carey is joining the Transatlantic Studies track from Dublin Ireland.  She completed her BA at Trinity College Dublin where she studied European Studies with a specialisation in Italian language and culture. While on an Erasmus programme at the University of Milan, Martha took a number of courses on the sociology of organised crime, leading her to write her thesis on the Sicilian Mafia. In August 2023, Martha was the first non-Italian student to attend Prof. Nando Dalla Chiesa’s (ex-member of parliament) summer course ‘Unitinerante’, studying the spread of organised crime in Cesenatico, Italy. Additionally, in July 2022 Martha received a scholarship from the University of Milan to represent Ireland at the prestigious Feltrinelli Italian language and culture course in Gargnano, Lake Garda. In her spare time, Martha has been an environmental advocate, presenting the Irish youth perspective at European forums while advancing sustainability awareness through her involvement in events such as European Youth Week 2019 and the Sustainable Ireland National Conference. After spending the academic year in Chapel Hill, Martha will continue on to the University of Siena, Italy

 

Hailing from New York, Hanna Engelhardt graduated from Elon University in North Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts in Statistics, alongside minors in Peace and Conflict Studies, Leadership Studies, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexualities Studies. What may seem like an unconventional degree for someone entering TAM, Hanna believes is one of her strongest attributes. She argues that an analyst’s mindset and an appreciation for how data is used (and often manipulated) in narratives are crucial for studying and understanding political science. As an undergraduate, she was a part of the Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellowship, worked as a statistical consultant for Labcorp Aviation, interned as a Correctional Intelligence Analyst focusing on Anti-Human Trafficking Initiatives, and studied abroad in India examining the relationship between religion, caste, and gender in contemporary South Asia. Hanna will be studying on TAM’s TransAtlantic track and looks forward to spending her second year at Sciences-Po in Grenoble. She is excited to start at Chapel Hill, engage in a new field of study, and get to know the members of her cohort!

 

Deniz Erdal, originally from Upper Arlington, Ohio, graduated from UNC in May of 2024 with a Bachelor of Arts in Contemporary European Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Information Science. Deniz is deeply fascinated by the dynamics of Turkey and, more broadly, its intersection with global security, politics, and economies across the TransAtlantic sphere. As a part of the TransAtlantic Masters Program, Deniz plans on following the European Governance track and will complete his second year of the program in Germany at the Humboldt University of Berlin.

During his time as an undergraduate at Carolina, Deniz competed in the Schuman Challenge at the EU Delegation in Washington; conducted field research on international conflict and intervention in the Western Balkans; studied as a visiting scholar at the Diplomatische Akademie of Vienna; and received the ESRA Grant from the Center for European Studies to expand upon his research on Turkey’s relationship with the EU and NATO across Europe. Additionally, Deniz served as an active member of the Model EU Team; Speaker Pro Tempore of the UNC Undergraduate Senate; and President of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies. In addition to being fluent in Turkish and having an intermediate proficiency in German, Deniz is currently studying Arabic as a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellow. In his spare time, Deniz plays water polo and enjoys cycling, skiing, and traveling with his family and friends.

 

Said Ghneim, born and raised in Germany to Jordanian immigrant parents, pursued his undergraduate studies at Bielefeld University in a teacher trainee program focusing on English, European politics, mathematics, and educational science for secondary education. As part of his undergraduate program, he spent two semesters as an exchange student at Washington State University and participated in an excursion to Rhodes University in South Africa. In 2021, he attended the Diversity Initiative Fulbright summer school at Trinity University, a private liberal arts college in San Antonio, TX.

Mr. Ghneim will soon commence the two-year transatlantic studies track of the Transatlantic Master’s Program (TAM) at UNC Chapel Hill as a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) fellow. He plans to complete the second year of this program at the Sciences Po Grenoble in France.

Professionally, Mr. Ghneim has worked as a program coordinator assistant at the German American Partnership Program at the Goethe Institut in NYC and as a teaching assistant at a German American School in Seattle, WA. Most recently, he completed an internship at the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, working in the department for culture and society.

In 2024, Mr. Ghneim was selected as a scholar by the German Foundation for Integration (Deutschlandstiftung Integration). Additionally, Mr. Ghneim is deeply interested in LGBTQIA+ issues and campaigns that enhance awareness and visibility for queer individuals and communities.

 

Daria Gibhardt was raised in Germany. She graduated from Georg-August-Universität Göttingen this past spring with a B.A. in Social Sciences (Sociology, Interdisciplinary Indian Studies, Educational Science). During her undergraduate program, she studied abroad at Western Washington University in the United States for the academic year 2021/22. In addition to her undergraduate program, Daria was recognized by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) as qualified to teach German as a second and foreign language. She has already put her knowledge into practice in several different settings including her internship in the Language Department at Goethe-Institute/Max Mueller Bhavan Pune in India. She is on the TAM Governance track and will be spending her second year at the University of Gothenburg. Her research interests include education policy, socioeconomic inequality, populism, and the impact of social media on democracies.

 

Matthew Gimbel graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2024 with a double major in Global Studies and Music and a minor in French. He excelled academically, graduating with highest distinction, and musically, being the principal bassist of the UNC symphony orchestra for many seasons. Matthew participated in an exchange program at Sciences Po Paris where he expanded his knowledge of the EU, international relations, and continued music by participating in the university’s orchestra. Matthew is furthering his education at UNC by pursuing TAM in the TransAtlantic track with a FLAS award to study Portuguese in the 2024-2025 school year. He will spend his second TAM year in Grenoble. He is interested in researching the intersection between politics and music as well as cultural diplomacy.

 

Caroline Grueneis is from Park Ridge, New Jersey, and graduated in April 2022 from the University of Michigan. At Michigan, Caroline majored in German, History, and International Studies with a concentration in Security, Norms, and Cooperation. Following her graduation from the University of Michigan, she went on to work at the University of Iowa. While at Iowa, she was employed in Student Engagement and Campus Programming. Working in an academic setting motivated Caroline to return to school to pursue her interest in European Relations. Caroline is on the Transatlantic Studies track, with plans to study at Humboldt University of Berlin. While in Chapel Hill, she will be a FLAS recipient for the 2024-2025 academic year, and will be studying Turkish.

 

Tia Hood joins the Transatlantic Studies track and will study overseas at Bath University and then at Sciences Po, Grenoble. Originally from Fort Mill, South Carolina, Tia completed her undergraduate degree at George Washington University in Washington, DC, graduating in 2024 with a double major in Political Science and Human Services and Social Justice. Tia is looking forward to exploring interests in social justice movements and issues on a global scale.

 

Vinnie Hourihane is from Maynooth, Ireland and graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2024 with a major in International Business and a minor in Political Science. In Spring 2023, he completed a study abroad program at UNC Chapel Hill, and is returning to Carolina on the double-degree track of the TAM program. During the final two years of his undergraduate degree, Vinnie was elected Chair of the Society for International Affairs (SOFIA) in Trinity College, Ireland’s largest student organization for diplomacy and international politics. In his capacity as SOFIA’s longest-serving Chair, he had the opportunity to explore his deep interest in geopolitics and transatlantic foreign policy, gaining insights into international relations from meetings with figures such as Hermann Van Rompuy, Fiona Hill, Anne Anderson and other policy experts within the American and Irish diplomatic bureaucracies. Vinnie’s research interests include trends in American electoral politics and their influence on policymaking and institutions; foreign policy decision-making amidst uncertainty; international security matters; and diplomatic strategy. After completing his degree in Political Science at Chapel Hill, he is excited to continue his studies of European Governance overseas at Humboldt University in Berlin. A fluent Irish speaker, outside of class Vinnie is currently learning Japanese and is an avid reader of history and current affairs.

 

Halle Knutson is from Arlington, Virginia. She graduated from Occidental College in 2024 cum laude as a Politics major and Urban and Environmental Policy minor. While in undergrad, Halle was a Division III athlete and 2-time captain of the varsity women’s lacrosse team. In the fall of 2022, she studied abroad at the University of Amsterdam and grew interested in the European Union’s role as a government system as well as welfare policies throughout many European countries. She successfully completed her senior comprehensive project, “Personality versus Policy: An Analysis of Celebrity Politicians and Populism.” As a TAM student, Halle is on the European Governance Track, with plans to study abroad at the University of Gothenburg. Her research interests include Nordic welfare policies, political backsliding, and EU social policy.

 

Will Morton has just graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He graduated with two degrees and a minor – a degree in Global Studies focusing on Eastern Europe and a degree in Peace, War and Defense. His minor was Conflict Management. At UNC, he did a Transatlantic Security study abroad in Brussels that cemented his love of studying European-American relations. In TAM, he will be pursuing a dual degree and has chosen Humboldt University as his overseas site. He is beyond grateful for this opportunity.

 

SPark is from North Carolina (USA) on the Comparative Climate Change Policy track. She graduated in 2024 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a dual major in Contemporary European Studies and Political Science, with a minor in French. She also studied at Queen’s University Belfast during her tenure as an undergraduate student. She will study at the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin in Germany in the 2025-2026 academic year. She is a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship. SPark’s previous research has focused on divided societies and sectarian conflict. She employs the Harkness method in her pedagogy, advancing an egalitarian model of collaborative learning. She has teaching experience as a TA for GLBL 381 “Great Decisions” at UNC-CH and has led workshops for the NC public library system. She has also employed innovative practices with digital mixed reality for immersive learning in her gallery work with Greenhouse Studios and the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Connecticut, and the 2018 Equal Justice Initiative cohort at Phillips Exeter Academy. SPark is a passionate believer in free speech and information, democracy, and the power of the individual to enact positive systemic social change through radical empathy. She puts these personal-political ideals into political-personal community praxis through her work in activism, advocacy, and mutual aid. In her spare time, she enjoys archery, gardening, hiking, and skiing.

 

Rachel Phillips was born and raised in Monroe, North Carolina. She graduated from the University of North Carolina-Asheville in 2022 with a major in Political Science and a Minor in Environmental Science. Her thesis on Booking Banning in U.S. Prisons won the Bill Sabo Outstanding Senior Research Award. After graduation, she worked as an Intellectual Property Paralegal for two years. Rachel is on the TransAltantic track and plans on studying at the University of Bath. She plans on researching the differences in recidivism between England and the United States and how education plays a role in it. During her free time Rachel enjoys reading and spending time in nature.

 

 

Sam Sjoberg is originally from the Washington D.C. area and completed his undergraduate degree in International Studies and German at American University in Spring 2021 in Northwest Washington D.C. Between the end of his undergraduate career and now, Sam was an English teaching assistant through Fulbright Austria. After this, Sam worked in the international business space for two years where he gained experience in multiple international industries such as automotive, internet infrastructure, green technology, and AI. These topics inspired Sam to pursue the comparative climate change track as he wants to learn more about how leading industries and technologies can better help us develop productive solutions to the climate crisis. Sam will spend his second year of the program studying at Alexander von Humboldt University in Berlin to continue his academic interests in German and the German-speaking world.

 

Miranda Tate has dual citizenship between Sweden and the United States and grew up living between Stockholm and the D.C. area. She is joining TAM as part of the European Governance track with the University of Gothenburg, where she will spend the second year of the program. Miranda graduated from the University of Amsterdam in 2023 with a BSc in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology and a minor in Law and Economics. During the last year of her undergraduate she focused on political anthropology and took classes in international political economy. Miranda’s research interests include labour rights and the effects of globalization on the relationship between the state and citizens. Miranda wrote and illustrated for her programs student-run magazine as well as completed an internship at an art gallery in Amsterdam. In her free time she enjoys painting and running, having run her first half marathon this year.

 

Henri Winberg is from Helsinki, Finland, and graduated from the Hanken School of Economics in 2023 with a B.Sc. in Economics and Business Administration. During his undergraduate studies, he spent one semester at the University of Exeter in the UK. Following his graduation, he completed an internship at the Wilson Center, a Washington-based foreign policy think tank, and worked as representative for the Parliament of Finland in Brussels. Both experiences solidified his passion for transatlantic affairs and sparked his interest in further studies in the field. Henri is currently pursuing the TransAtlantic Studies track and plans to continue his second year at the University of Bath in the UK. His research interests include among other things Euro-Atlantic security and defense cooperation, EU governance, and US-EU economic relations. Alongside his studies, he is also a contributing writer for The Ulkopolitist, a Finnish foreign policy magazine, where he writes on transatlantic affairs.

  

Connor Zamora grew up in New Jersey to an American mother and Chilean father, before moving to South Carolina following his graduation from high school. In 2024, he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning dual majors in Political Science and Contemporary European Studies, along with a minor in Hispanic Studies. Following his first year of TAM at UNC, Connor will embark on his second year in Barcelona, participating in the European Governance track of TAM at the Universitat Pompeau Fabra (UPF) in Barcelona.

Connor’s academic pursuits are deeply rooted in his fascination with globalization and European integration, democracy, and political liberalism. He is particularly interested in studying the evolving role of the European Union and its member states on the global stage, focusing on the various factors that shape the policy decisions of contemporary EU governments. These factors include migration, electoral systems, and multicultural policies.

Outside of his studies, Connor has avidly followed American politics, even working with a campaign for North Carolina Governor. After graduation, he interned over the summer for a non-profit social law firm focusing on the repair and restoration of the cracks in the penal system, most often specializing in clientele who suffered discrimination in the face of the law. During his free time, Connor enjoys going on long-distance runs, playing golf and soccer. He looks forward to the opportunity to continue his travels around Europe and immersing himself in the cultures.

Class of 2025

 

José-Luis Amsler was raised in Berlin, Germany in a German-Peruvian-Iranian family. He recently graduated from Freie Universität Berlin with a B.A. in Media Studies and Political Science as the best student of the year. During his undergraduate studies he spent two semesters at Indiana University Bloomington where he learned a lot about international relations, American constitutional law, and corn fields. He also produced and directed an award-winning short documentary while there. Besides studying, he has been working as a rookie journalist for various media outlets including Berliner Zeitung and Rolling Stone Germany. Both academically and professionally, José-Luis is especially passionate about socioeconomic inequality and welfare policy. During TAM, he would like to focus on the rise of antidemocratic tendencies in the EU as well as on the impact of continued European integration on political attitudes and local politics. He is now in his second year of TAM at Humboldt University in Berlin on the Transatlantic Studies track. He recently started working for a magazine called The Berliner.

 

 

Paola Andreu Sanz was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Charlotte, NC. She graduated from UNC-CH with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a second major in Women’s and Gender Studies and a minor in Latina/o Studies with distinction. She is in TAM’s European Governance track as a second-year TAM student at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. She is also interning there at the US Consulate. She is interested in researching how gender plays a role in defining how rights are afforded to citizens of a nation. During her free time, Paola enjoys reading or going to sports events with her friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Till Bodenhagen studied Communications in Salzburg, Austria from 2019 to 2023. He did an Erasmus semester abroad in 2021 for which he picked Gothenburg University. He took his first Political Science courses there and finally decided on pursuing an adjacent graduate program after not pursuing a Poli undergraduate program in 2019. It was also via the University of Gothenburg that he found out about TAM and the universities’ cooperation. As he has grown to love Gothenburg, he happily took the chance to return there as his overseas site on TAM’s European Governance track.
His political interests were invoked by the EU refugee crisis in 2015 and the US election campaign leading up to Nov 2016. Since then, he follows everyday politics focusing on US and German domestic politics. Concrete research interests of his, outside that grid, are climate politics, the Middle East, and the war against Ukraine. Till focused on Journalism in his undergraduate years, and this field is more often than not the lens he uses to understand politics. He is especially interested in the media’s role to responsibly educate its audience on an ever-more-complex-growing world and how media contributes to the democratic process. His interests outside university were lifeguarding/swimming until recently and making up for the lost covid time in every aspect that comes with that. He also considers politics as a hobby as he spends way too much free time on it to not call it such.

 

As a first-generation American from a Brazilian family in Raleigh, North Carolina, Marco Braga enjoys learning all about different cultures. He graduated Cum Laude in May 2023 from Western Carolina University’s Honors College with a BS in History and a minor in Leadership. His academic journey sparked a passion for politics and global affairs, and an ambition to discover and implement solutions for the issues of our generation. A highlight of his time at WCU was the opportunity to intern with NATO, an experience that greatly shaped his perspective of global affairs and future aspirations. After his first semester at UNC-CH, continued his TAM program at Bath University, England on the Transatlantic Studies track. he then interned in Brazil over the summer before returning to complete TAM in Bath. He enjoys hearing new ideas, meeting new people and foremost, to robust debates.

 

 

 

Kevin Bunga was born in DR Congo and has grown up in Raleigh. His earliest experience with politics was whilst growing up and discussing the little of politics that he knew with his family, be it in relation to US political events, geopolitics, or events that had or were transpiring in Congo.
He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro as a double major in Political Science and International Global Studies as well as a minor in French. During his undergrad he studied abroad at Vesalius College and interned at Laffineur Law firm, in Brussels, Belgium. He wrote a thesis, “Hungary, The Illiberal State within the European Union” about Hungary’s backsliding within the EU. His research interests include European politics and society, particularly democratization and regime change in the European context. His focus is primarily on how populist/authoritarian changes are managed within the context of the EU. He is Part of the Transatlantic track and spent the Spring 2024 semester at Sciences-Po in Grenoble where he will remain for his second year of TAM. Over the summer, he interned for Carnegie Europe in Brussels. Outside of school his interests include reading, shows & movies, soccer, traveling, and hanging out with friends and family.

 

 

 

Mackenzie Hansen graduated in May 2023 with a BA in Contemporary European Studies and an honors laureate from UNC-CH. During undergrad she participated in Model EU simulations as a member of the UNC team and worked for the UNC Center for European Studies and the Krasno Global Event Series to facilitate events on global affairs and the transatlantic relationship. She completed a virtual study abroad course through Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, where she studied policymaking in the European Union. Mackenzie works as an international policy analyst with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. She had a FLAS award to study Portuguese during the 2023-24 academic year. Mackenzie is now in Bath on the Transatlantic Studies Track.

 

Thomas Harley is from Miami, Florida, and graduated from UNC-CH in 2023 with degrees in Political Science and Economics. He also attended Duke University for part of his college tenure through the Robertson Scholars Leadership Program. Thomas has research interests in rising ethnonationalism across the European continent and the role that this development can play in climate and immigration policies. Thomas is in Grenoble for the fall 2024 semester.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although Mariana Herrera was born in Colombia, she has lived most of her life in Raleigh, North Carolina. She graduated from UNC-CH with a double major in Contemporary European Studies and Peace, War, and Defense with a minor in Arabic in December 2022. During her undergraduate career, Mariana was a part of the Bonners Scholars Program, UNC’s Model European Union Team, and the Journal of Foreign Affairs (formerly known as The Internationalist). She was a FLAS recipient in 2021-2022 and was again in 2023-2024 for Arabic. As a part of the Transatlantic track, Mariana is at the University of Bath now. Her research interests include refugee and immigration policy, conflict resolution, and international security. Over the summer she was in DC interning at the US Department of State.

 

 

 

 

 

Leah Johnson graduated from Dartmouth College in 2023 double majoring in Government and Psychology with a focus on international relations. She is studying at the University of Bath on the Transatlantic Studies track of the TAM program. Leah’s research interests include international security and conflict stabilization focused on intelligence analysis, counterterrorism, and diplomacy policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Morgan Johnson is a passionate scholar, born and raised in Fayetteville, Georiga, who continues to pursue a well-rounded academic journey. With a diverse range of interests and a vibrant personality, Morgan utilizes her personal experiences in conjunction with her academic studies to work towards a better future for all.
Before joining the TAM Program, Morgan studied at the University of Pennsylvania for two years before making the decision to transfer to the University of Virginia, where she ultimately earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a concentration in Government. Throughout her undergraduate years, Morgan displayed exceptional dedication and intellectual curiosity, immersing herself in courses that explored the complexities of political systems, African American Studies, and governance.

Driven by a desire to further her academic pursuits and broaden her horizons, Morgan has chosen Humboldt University in Berlin as the destination for her second year of graduate studies on the TAM European Governance track. While in Berlin, Morgan is deeply interested in the intersection of political science and social justice. She is particularly drawn to issues such as prison reform, the school-to-prison pipeline, civil rights, constitutional law, African American studies, and exploring the Black experience across the diaspora. Morgan recognizes the critical importance of addressing these systemic challenges and seeks to understand how they transpire across the Western world with a comparative study of Germany’s history regarding race and human rights. She is fully committed to contributing to the ongoing efforts aimed at creating a more equitable and just global society.

Beyond her academic pursuits, Morgan has an adventurous spirit and loves to explore new destinations, immersing herself in different cultures and broadening her perspectives. She is a foodie and enjoys sharing these experiences with friends and family. Morgan is also actively involved with her sorority, where she engages in community service initiatives that align with her values of social justice and empowerment.

 

Luis Leandro Ortega goes by Leandro or Leo. He is a 23-year-old student hailing from Nicaragua, but he has been living in Sweden for most of his life. Recently, he completed his Bachelor’s degree in Global Studies with a specialization in Development Studies at the University of Gothenburg. He is now back in Sweden to finish up the TAM-program on the European Governance track. Being a full-time student has kept him quite busy, leaving little time for much else apart from part-time jobs. In addition to his studies, he serves as a board member at the Latin-American Amnesty group in Sweden.

When he does find some free time, he cherishes it by spending it with loved ones and friends. He also has a deep appreciation for nature, so going on hikes is a real delight. As for research interests, they span a wide range, but he particularly focuses on LGBTQ+ rights. His Bachelor’s thesis explored the impact of labor rights on the lives of transgender individuals. Additionally, he has a keen interest in understanding how organizations and institutions contribute to overall development and human rights.

 

Dale Seufert-Navarro graduated from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 2023, receiving degrees in both Political Science and Sociology. Graduating with honors, his thesis was awarded the Terry Sanford Award for Excellence. He is now in his second year of TAM, studying at Bremen University in Germany. His research has been published in the North Carolina Journal of European Studies and in the Journal of Foreign Affairs at Carolina. Dale’s research interests are firmly rooted in studying the causes and consequences of economic inequality and varying welfare state efforts to address it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jasmin Singh holds a Bachelor of Arts from Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina. While at Queens, she studied International Relations, focusing on International Law and Organization. Jasmin was also a dual sport Division II collegiate athlete playing Women’s soccer and lacrosse. Upon graduation, she had a small stint playing professional women’s soccer in Quito, Ecuador. After her time in Ecuador, she moved to Washington, DC, where she started her career in International Development. She worked directly with US government agencies on entrepreneurship, civic engagement, and technology programs. Jasmin is part of the European Governance track. She is spending the program’s second year at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain. She is a FLAS recipient for Turkish and spent the summer in Turkey studying the language. Her research interests include comparative social policy, specifically immigration policy, and integration.

 

 

 

Elton Smole is part of the European Governance track, with his overseas site in Berlin, Germany. Elton grew up in Washington, DC, and received his BA in Philosophy & Public Affairs from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, spending one semester studying in Havana, Cuba. After graduation, he spent about two years working at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Washington, DC, focusing on programs in Central America and Brazil. Elton is seeking to shift his career focus to the Eastern Europe region, with a particular interest in the Balkans. Elton is half-Albanian and has been studying Serbo-Croatian at UNC through FLAS. Research interests include conflict resolution and the EU ascension process in Kosovo. Other interests include Eastern European (and Latin American) history, music, and arts, as well as Southern rock music. Elton interned in DC with the Bertelsmann Foundation this past summer.

 

 

 

Hunter Steen is from Asheville, North Carolina and will be joining TAM under the TransAtlantic track. He finished his undergraduate studies at UNC-CH in 2023 with a double major in Global Studies and Peace, War, and Defense alongside a minor in German. Hunter had an award for Arabic as part of his Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship for the 2023-2024 school year. For the second year of his program, Hunter is based at the Humboldt University of Berlin and has DAAD funding. When not studying transatlantic security or international affairs, Hunter loves learning languages, seeking out new adventures, and spending time with his friends and family.

 

 

 

 

 

Evan Thomas graduated with Highest Honors from Appalachian State University (ASU), where he earned his B.A. in Languages, Literatures and Cultures. His concentration was in German studies, and he also minored in Philosophy. During his time as an undergraduate student, Evan was introduced to the institutions and governing bodies of the European Union, as well as the political systems of its constituent member states. This newfound perspective of Europe as a complex, geopolitical entity ultimately pushed his research interests into the realm of political science, whilst still remaining interested in the sociocultural aspects of European experience. Reflecting these research interests, Evan participated as a panelist at the 2022 Southeast German Studies Workshop, where he presented a paper on the link between post-socialist nostalgia and democratic and antidemocratic sentiments in former East Germany. Before earning his Bachelor of Arts at ASU, Evan also had the rewarding experience of working as a teaching assistant in beginner German classes. After undergrad, Evan has continued to seek opportunities to improve his language skills, which led to his decision to spend a summer studying German at Middlebury College in Vermont, where he participated in the school’s world-renowned language immersion program in 2022. Evan is currently in TAM’s European Governance, Double-Degree track. He will be pursuing a Master’s of European Studies at the University of Gothenburg after his first year at UNC-CH. Aside from his passion for learning foreign languages (he is currently learning Swedish), Evan has a keen interest in philosophy and world history, while also being an avid music fan. His research interests include the role of international and intergovernmental institutions in the ongoing process of European integration, immigration within the EU and immigration policy at the national and supranational levels, as well as the Nordic welfare state as an economic model. Evan spend the past summer interning in DC with the Bertelsmann Foundation.

 

Melanie Viso was born and raised in Lima, Peru. She graduated from UNC-CH in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies with a second major in Political Science. Melanie is on the Transatlantic Studies track. She spent Spring 2024 at the Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, in Spring 2024. She is now in her second year of TAM at Sciences-Po in Grenoble, France. Her research interests include, but are not limited to, European immigration policy, integration, security, and inequality. Furthermore, Melanie hopes to develop a comparative analysis of integration policies from the previously mentioned EU member-states and research the impact of national identity on European policy-making regarding immigrants’ rights.

 

 

 

 

 

An alumnus of Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, Andrew Williard holds a double degree in Environmental Economics & Policy and German Languages, Literatures, & Cultures, which he obtained in 2022. During his studies, he completed a virtual internship for FEASTA, an Irish-based sustainable economics NGO. After completing his undergraduate degree, he was awarded a Fulbright Grant for the 2022-23 period, serving as an English Teaching Assistant at Ehrenfried-Walther-von-Tschirnhaus-Gymnasium in Dresden, Germany. Driven by his passion for education, languages, and travel, he successfully fulfilled his responsibilities under the Fulbright Grant and embarked on further academic pursuits at UNC-CH. He joined the Transatlantic Masters program on the Comparative Climate Change Policy path. He is now at the Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, bringing together his interests in sustainability, the environment, and the German language. He intends to focus on studying the comparative paradigms of food production. Additionally, he aims to explore the benefits of decentralizing food systems to promote more sustainable farming practices, local food production, cooperatives, and other models such as urban agriculture or 15-minute city plans.

 

 

Alexandra (Ola) Zubrowicz is from Wallace, North Carolina and graduated from UNC-CH in 2022 with a BA in Contemporary European Studies with minors in History and Slavic and East European languages and cultures. Ola then took a gap year to live and work in Madrid, Spain, as a Business English teacher to adults and to practice her Spanish. This experience allowed her to explore and learn more about what she studied during her undergraduate years. Ola is on the Comparative Climate Change Policy path through the European Governance track and is now in Gothenburg, Sweden. Her research interests include political backsliding, environmental policy-making, and social issues within the EU.

 

 

 

 

.