Career shifts come in different forms, and for Eskandar Ataallah, the shift was personal. Ataallah, a first-year MGA student from Syria, went from the field of economics to humanitarian services when conflict broke out in his home country. In this student spotlight, Ataallah details his journey with advocacy work, the...
First-year MGA student Aung Myo Hein is a peace practitioner with more than a decade of experience in conflict prevention, refugee rights, environmental disaster response, and humanitarian aid distribution. Aung Myo has worked with powerhouse NGOs including Search for Common Ground and USAID, and is dedicated to fostering peace and...
Second-year MGA student Haleemah Ahmad is a researcher, advocate, and peacebuilder focused on reducing violence in local communities through bottom-up programming. Haleemah has been published in the Tony Blair Institute for Change essay collection, served as the editor-in-chief of the Da’wah Institute, and advised the Carter Center on peacebuilding. In...
Alberto Solís-Castro is a second-year MGA student and peace practitioner from Mexico with 15 years of experience in the field. Alberto is well versed in social movements, victim advocacy, indigenous rights, and mediation processes. A committed peacebuilder, Alberto shares his extensive peace work, reasons for pursuing a Master’s degree, and...
Angela Chesler is a Ph.D. candidate in Peace Studies & Political Science. She’s also a Research Fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. In her research, Angela is looking at post-conflict violence in self-governing states, and the impact of this violence on the environment. In this...
Isabel Güiza-Gómez, a Ph.D. candidate in Peace Studies and Political Science, was recently awarded an Alejandro Angel Escobar Prize in Human and Social Science. The award recognizes her research and a recently published book on rural mobilization in her native Colombia. Isabel is interested in political economy in societies going...
Ruth Carmi is a Ph.D. student in Peace Studies and Sociology. Ruth's research examines the effect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the systematic marginalization of Palestinian women and Jewish women of color. Prior to joining the Kroc Institute, Ruth worked as a human rights lawyer focusing on issues of incitement...
Saadat Musabaeva is a second-year MGA student from Kyrgyzstan. She was recently in Washington D.C. completing her field experience with the International Civil Society Action Network where she works with the Innovative Peace Fund. In her native Bishkek, Saadat experienced major revolutions and transformations affecting her country. In this Student...
Three MGA International Peace Studies students interned with the UN New York last semester. Eunhye Lee (MGA '23), Sarah Nanjala (MGA '22), and Tinaishe Maramba (MGA '22) worked with different agencies focusing on peacebuilding, refugee rights, genocide prevention and migration. They shared their insights and advice on how to navigate...
Emma Jackson is a student in the Master of Global Affairs Peace Studies program. Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Emma considers her time with the Kroc Institute as a transformative experience. Emma is currently completing her field experience in Sri Lanka with Search for Common Ground. There, she works on...
Joachim Chukwuebuka Ozonze is a Ph.D. student from Nigeria studying Peace Studies and Theology. As a Catholic priest, he studied Philosophy and Theology in his home country, which led him to receive a Master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame. In this interview, Joachim shares his hopes for opening...
Susan Nchubiri is a Master’s student in her final semester of the Peace studies program. During the last six months, she had the opportunity to intern in Israel and Palestine at the World Council of Churches, where she served as an Ecumenical Accompanier. In this interview, Susan highlights how she...
Juan Mosquera Sepúlveda is a Colombian peacebuilder passionate about policymaking for conflict transformation. In this conversation with fellow MGA-IPS student Anna Romandash, he highlights his most important takeaways and outlooks from his six-month experience.
Ali Altiok is a first-year Peace Studies and Political Science student from Turkey. Before coming to the Kroc Institute, Ali worked as a researcher at the United Nations and as a coordinator and policy officer at multiple peacebuilding organizations. He has an interdisciplinary educational background. He holds Master’s Degrees in...
It’s rare for a leading humanitarian organization to hire a newly minted master’s graduate. But that’s exactly what happened when Gulzeyin Khalibaeva MGA ’21 was offered a full-time position with Catholic Relief Services (CRS). In fact, Khalibaeva began working for CRS two months before she graduated from Notre Dame with a master...
Carli Steelman is a fourth-year peace studies and sociology Ph.D. student. Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, Carli studied political science before coming to the University of Notre Dame. She credits the Kroc Institute for enabling her research which focuses on the role of collective memory in post-conflict societies Bosnia and Herzegovina...
Euda Fils is a first year Master of Global Affairs, International Peace Studies student. A Haitian, she moved to Florida when she was nine. Euda studied economics and was a Peace Corps volunteer before joining the Kroc Institute. She wants to work in corporate social responsibility after she graduates and...
Sarah Nanjala is a first year Master of Global Affairs, International Peace Studies student. A Kenyan, she was born and raised in Nairobi, a location that has played a significant role in her life. A journalist by training, Sarah observed frequent electoral violence in her home country and wanted to...
Sehrazat G. Mart is a Ph.D. student in peace studies and sociology and interested in empowerment of marginalized groups , social movements, and structural transformations. Originally from Turkey, she studied sociology in her home country, and later, received her Master’s degree at the University of Notre Dame. For Sehrazat, completing...
Lenai Johnson is a second-year Master of Global Affairs, International Peace Studies student. Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines. Lenai is passionate about studying gender, indigeneity, and the causes of mass atrocities and working at the intersection of these topics.…
Sean Raming is a second-year peace studies and history Ph.D. student researching militarism in the U.S. Before joining the Kroc Institute, he lived across the U.S., worked as a commercial fisherman for nearly seven years, and even played in a band that toured across Europe. He says that he followed...
Tinaishe Maramba, a master of global affairs student at the Keough School, reflects on his summer experience as an Ansari Institute intern with Religions for Peace.
Hometown: Butuan City, Philippines Program: Keough School Master of Global Affairs, International Peace Studies Concentration Research Interest: Adolescent and youth participation in governance, especially in post-conflict situations. You had been working in the fields of peace and development in Malaysia and the Philippines for almost a decade before you came...
Hometown: Nairobi, Kenya Program: Master’s in Global Affairs with International Peace Studies Concentration Research Interests: Migration, Refugee Policy, the Environment, and Women Bishara was interviewed by current peace studies undergraduate student Matthew Macke (‘21). Matthew: You were a clinical psychologist prior to coming to Notre Dame. How did you end...
Hometown: Beijing, China Program: Ph.D. Peace Studies and Theology (B.A. ‘18, Political Science and Theology Major with Minor in Philosophy, Religion, and Literature) Research Interests: Post-traumatic theology, decolonial and queer theologies, gender and sexuality studies, religion, and literature You went to Notre Dame for your undergraduate, then on to Harvard Divinity...
Hometown: Tabriz, Iran Degree and Year of Study: Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Graduate Minor in Peace Studies Research Interests: 3D Printing of thermoelectric generators for energy harvesting; energy-related conflict resolution Why did you choose to pursue a graduate minor in peace studies? My research is about developing high-performance thermoelectric generators...
Program: Master’s in Global Affairs, International Peace Studies Concentration
Research Interests: Armed Conflict and Memory, Transitional Justice Systems, Gender Issues, and Data Visualization
Hometown: Planeta Rica, Córdoba, Colombia (Although much of the past 20 years has been in Medellín and Bogotá)
What drew you to study peace?…
