I think it’s really important to revisit the ‘why’ of whatever you are doing. It’s so easy in international development, for example, to get pretty separated from the why. You can sit on your computer all day and send out emails, but if you’re not talking to those individuals in the field, you can very easily feel removed from what you are doing and the impact that it is having. I studied public health at the University of Texas School of Public Health, and my mentor, helped me get a placement at Relief International in Myanmar. For six weeks, I monitored and evaluated maternal and child health programs in the delta regions outside the main cities. It was amazing. We traveled to these villages that were only accessible by boat. One of them had been hit by a typhoon five years prior, but it looked like it had happened the day before. Those connections and experiences are the ways you get jobs, but they also shape your perspective. They are invaluable to your career. I’ve worked at Princeton since 2018 as the assistant director for the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project. The mission has evolved over the years.

My role within the organization is making sure all the trains are working on time. I love how autonomous and creative I can be in the role. I am always learning new things, and my position has changed so much in the last three years; no day is ever the same. When I first came to Princeton, I fell in love with the campus. I immediately knew it was the place I wanted to be. There is a tangible feeling that a lot of people are doing really great work.