A headshot of Marina Milaszewska
Marina Milaszewska, MAIDP'20

CHICAGO –Marina Milaszewska, MAIDP ’20, has received a Boren Fellowship, awarded by the National Security Education Program (NSEP) to undergraduate and graduate students who decide to study languages overseas in an immersive, long-term format and then apply their new linguistic and cultural understanding to at least a year of federal government service. She will begin the program after interning at the Department of State this fall.

The fellowship will provide Milaszewska with the resources to undergo nine months of intensive language training in Amman, Jordan. While in Amman, she will volunteer at the International Committee of the Red Cross to support forced migrants. She hopes to fulfill the public service requirement of the fellowship by living and working abroad in a developing country, ideally developing and managing foreign aid programs in humanitarian response, governance, and democracy through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a Foreign Service Officer.

In addition to Arabic, Milaszewska speaks Russian, French, Egyptian, and some Nubian. In addition to her MAIDP degree, she holds a certificate in Global Conflict Studies, which she credits with preparing her with the skills she needs to apply the analytical, data-driven Harris Public Policy approach to pursue a career in international development.

“When I was five, I saw a group of children with cancer from the Chernobyl disaster in an airport waiting room,” Milaszewska said. “That is when I first became aware of how governments fail their citizens. Since then, I wanted to streamline my skills into both government service and community-based work – and I feel that my training at Harris has given me the tools to move to the next phase in my career.”

Jamia Jowers' headshot
Obama Foundation Scholars Director Jamia Jowers

Milaszewska’s commitment to public service was strengthened by close interaction with Jamia Jowers, the Director of the MAIDP Program and herself a former Boren Scholar, and with peers in her MAIDP cohort who have encouraged and inspired her through their own experiences and wide range of perspectives on international development.