IEDPers: On Being A Graduate Resident Advisor (GRA)

Dear Future IEDPers, Moving to a new country and paying so much for your course can be overwhelming! Well, here are several opportunities for you to cut-down costs of living in Philly and build your skill-set: IEDP Graduate Assistant (GA): As an IEDP GA, you work on strengthening the IEDP community through social media, events, and any other support the program faculty may need! You … Continue reading IEDPers: On Being A Graduate Resident Advisor (GRA)

Future IEDPers: Lessons From CIES 2023!

Radhika Mittal This blog is for future IEDP students as you start to think about attending the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) conference! Many peers from my cohort grappled with questions like what will I gain from it, how do I select which sessions to attend, or how do we network! I spoke to ten IEDP students who attended CIES 2023 in Washington DC … Continue reading Future IEDPers: Lessons From CIES 2023!

Guided By Cairns

Dominique Liuzzo My parents gifted me an espresso machine for my birthday this year. When opening the gift, my mom explained it was to help save some money and, more importantly, because she thought I needed it. You may think to yourself, ‘another graduate student coffee cliché’. However, if you are an IEDP student, you would know that it is more than that. On a … Continue reading Guided By Cairns

Pen to Penn: A Story of a High-School Drop-out to a First Generation College Student

James Gazawie From Pen to Penn I come from a particularly non-traditional educational background–something I now view more auspiciously than otherwise. While it may come as a surprise, I was a bit problematic as an adolescent. As such, I found myself expelled from high school within the first few weeks. This incident went on to shape the rest of my life and education quite uniquely. … Continue reading Pen to Penn: A Story of a High-School Drop-out to a First Generation College Student

Diving Into A Dual Degree

Hi prospective IEDPers! My name is Sam Nguyen. I’m a dual degree student in IEDP and Nonprofit Leadership (NPL) at the School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) at Penn. I’m happy to share my experience as a dual degree student, especially as application deadlines are fast approaching. What is the dual degree application process like?Although there are a range of dual degree options available … Continue reading Diving Into A Dual Degree

Wall Street to Walnut Street: Louie Zuniga, Coverdell Fellow

Jesus “Louie” Zuniga flaunted his boots and cowboy hat during a recitation hour session where we shared something about our backgrounds with the rest of the cohort. Houston, Texas, is home to him. Growing up in a large metropolis got him curious about different people, languages, and cultures. It probably explains why he chose to study a year abroad in Brazil as an economics and … Continue reading Wall Street to Walnut Street: Louie Zuniga, Coverdell Fellow

My Disabilities Are The Antihero In My Story

Why diversity and innovation are more than representation and technology Chiara Nicastro is a 2nd Year IEDP student and a United Nations Development Program Intern. Below is her blog post, originally published on the UNDP Website highlighting how while some disabilities are immediately apparent, many are completely invisible. Chiara stresses on the importance of employers and policymakers seeking to be inclusive must take both into … Continue reading My Disabilities Are The Antihero In My Story

Farzanah Darwish – On the IEDP, UNESCO Fellowship, and Afghanistan

I had heard so much about Farzanah even before I set foot on campus. My cohort members, who had already met her in August, only had wonderful things to say about her. When I did get to know her from our classes together, group assignments, exploring Philly, and our shared love for Bollywood, I knew I had to share glimpses of her story with you. … Continue reading Farzanah Darwish – On the IEDP, UNESCO Fellowship, and Afghanistan