“When I was working for the @icrc in Greece with asylum-seekers, we would often bring them calling cards or phones with international calling capabilities so they could call their families abroad. Many had not spoken to their families in months or even years. After giving a card to one man, he said, ‘Receiving this card is like receiving a drop of water in the middle of a desert. It gives me hope.’ It was a beautiful sentiment. It reminded me that my work mattered and that we could make a difference in people’s lives. I began my journey with the @icrc at their headquarters in Geneva, where I lived for a year. There, I got to hear first-hand accounts from delegates coming from the field, and I became so inspired by their stories that I decided to apply to work in the field, as well. My first posting was in Paris since, at the time, large migrant flows were coming to Europe via the Mediterranean. Within months of me arriving in Paris, ICRC opened an office in Athens, so I was transferred there. I spent a year there supporting the Red Cross migration operational response. I visited migrant camps and immigration detention centers in Greece to provide technical support and material assistance. After this, I headed to the Washington, D.C., office where I worked as a migration officer. I arrived during a tumultuous time; the U.S. was beginning to implement increasingly restrictive immigration policies. My role was to understand the humanitarian consequences of these immigration policies on asylum seekers in Mexico, so I spent a lot of time at the U.S.-Mexico border liaising closely with my Mexican colleagues. The experience taught me that there can be consequences to policymaking. Throughout it all, I’ve kept the ICRC’s mission in mind: to alleviate human suffering. I carried that through my work and even now as a student. I’m at @princeton to learn how to make equitable policies that impact the people who need them most. I feel my place in the world is to help other people, especially those who don’t have a voice.” - Jacqueline Baumgartner MPA ’22. * #PolicyProfile is an @Instagram series featuring our community. Want to be featured? Comment/DM us.