SIT and beyond: Stories from 2024 of alumni making an impact
December 30th, 2024 | Careers, SIT Graduate Institute, SIT Study Abroad
For 60 years, School for International Training has prepared students to be global citizens and agents of change through transformative reflective learning and research experiences.
We’ve gathered some of this year’s stories that highlight our alumni and the dynamic impact they are making in our world today.
SIT alum Mahnoor Haq provides media expertise to Balkan content creators
SIT alum Mahnoor Haq is a senior communications associate for the communications firm Global Situation Room. In February, she presented on disinformation, social media, and artificial intelligence to a group of digital content creators from the Balkans. The group was part of Leaders Lead On-Demand’s Balkan Digital Content Creators, a program implemented by World Learning.
We spoke with Mahnoor, who shared about her educational background, how her time with SIT Morocco: Human Rights, Social Justice, and Cultural Transformation impacted her professionally, and her work with World Learning.
SIT graduate alum Libby Bennett uses a global mindset to help her local community
In March, Libby Bennett was named executive director for Groundworks Collaborative, an organization working to create solutions to hunger and homelessness in southern Vermont. Prior, she earned her master’s in nonprofit management from SIT Graduate Institute. When considering her academic background in relation to her new role, Libby appreciates SIT’s approach to skills learning and its global approach to programming.
“SIT is a really great place to try out new ideas and look at examples from around the world of how things can be done better.”
SIT alum discovers new frog species in Madagascar
Hugh Gabriel, who currently works for Minnesota’s state natural history museum, attended SIT’s Madagascar: Biodiversity and Natural Resources Management program. For his independent study project, he was connected with Miguel Vences, an accomplished evolutionary biologist. While catching and researching numerous frog species, he made a unique discovery.
“There was at least one species I found that didn’t look like anything in the guidebook. So, I sent Miguel pictures, and we decided that yes, this was most likely a new species.”
How an unexpected study abroad journey taught this SIT alum enduring lessons and skills
Neither a global pandemic nor an Ebola outbreak could stop Mary Thibodeau from studying abroad.
As an alum of both SIT Rwanda and SIT’s global MA in Humanitarian Assistance and Crisis Management, her study abroad journey was one of unexpected developments that ultimately shaped her into the global citizen she is today.
SIT graduate takes her ideas into classrooms around the world
Adeline De Angelis is now Dr. De Angelis to many. This past August, she was awarded her EdD in global education at SIT’s graduate commencement in Vermont. This fall, she started a new position at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, as a teaching faculty member in the secondary education master’s and teacher certification program.
We spoke with Adeline about SIT, the global education program, and her new role as a university professor.
Graduate alumna Rebecca Cutter says SIT made her a more thoughtful sustainable development practitioner
Rebecca Cutter is a graduate of SIT’s MA in sustainable development practice. She currently works as an independent contractor at Garden’s Edge, which supports food sovereignty and the preservation of traditional cultural ways of the Maya Achi of Guatemala, and for the Bolivian Quaker Education Fund, which strengthens connections between Quakers in the Andes and those in North America and Europe.
“All of SIT’s theory and history of sustainable development courses were eye-openers for me…I became much more critical of the field and even thought about leaving it…However, SIT helped me pair that critical lens with intercultural communication skills and the psychology of human behavior.”
Alice Rowan Swanson Fellow implements workshops for youth living with HIV
Marco Barracchia, a 2022 alumnus of SIT’s IHP Health and Community: Globalization, Culture, and Care program, was recently awarded the Alice Rowan Swanson Fellowship. The fellowship supports SIT and International Honors Program alumni to return to their program country to pursue development projects. Marco plans to implement the project “Empowering Transitions: AI-Driven Career Workshops for Youth Living with HIV in Rajasthan’s Orphanages.”
“In Rajasthan, HIV stigma continues to pervade both family and community life, leading many individuals to conceal their status due to the fear of social ostracization. Without structured support networks, they are thrown into a society that offers little acceptance or resources for people living with HIV.”
Coral reefs to frogs: An aspiring marine biologist joins 3 SIT programs
Christian Boudreaux has traveled the world with SIT — well, three continents to be exact. He recently finished his third SIT Study Abroad program in Australia.
Up ahead, he plans to pursue a PhD to research the genetic reasons underlying organismal adaptation to climate stress and wants to shape policy to protect marine ecosystems. He won the prestigious 2024 Truman Scholarship and plans to use the scholarship and a related internship in Washington, DC, to achieve his goal.