Growing more than she could have imagined

Wendy Wang always had an interest in international relations, but it was a fall tour of the school that cemented her choice to apply early decision to the College.

“I went during the fall. The campus was so beautiful because the leaves were turning yellow,” she said. “My tour guide was very nice, and I liked the vibe of the College.”

A proud Blue Lion, Wang stated her academic journey at Mount Holyoke was a “transformative experience,” discovering a passion for international peace and security. She appreciated the smaller class sizes and the ability to connect one-on-one with her professors.

In her sophomore year, Wang also developed an interest in nationalism and ethnic conflicts through the National Minority and International Politics class taught by former Professor Natalie Sabanadze ’97. Through the class, Wang became interested in the ethnic conflict in the Balkans and completed a project about national minority conflicts in the region.

“I really grew interested in ethnic conflicts and nationalism. I read a lot and wrote a paper and presentation at the end of the class,” she said. “I focused on group identity as the product of historical processes and explored how collective historical memories generate animosity and conflict among various ethnic groups.”

After taking the course, Wang desired to dig deeper about the conflict. In her junior year, she utilized the College’s study abroad program to study in Geneva, where she worked as an intern for the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.

During the internship she was able to gain experience in policy making, facilitating peace dialogues and researching global security issues in East Asia.

“My supervisor’s specialty was the Korean conflict. So I conducted some preliminary research for her. I feel like it was helpful for me in building a future career in public policy analysis work,” she said.

Wang also used the opportunity to travel to Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia and North Macedonia to conduct further field research for a paper titled “Unpacking the Paradox: Conflictual Coexistence of Ethnic Serb Minority with Other Ethnic Groups in Kosovo.”

The interdisciplinary nature of international relations combines other subjects such as political science, history, economics and geography. After taking International Economic Development with Professor Katherine Schmeiser Lande, Wang, who desires to work on economic policy or global security policy, chose to double major in economics.

“I took three classes with Professor Lande. Her classes are hard, but they made me challenge myself,” she said. “I feel like economics developed my technical and analytical skills. Economics is a helpful tool for my future career.”

In the summer of her junior year, Wang did an internship at Credit Suisse Asset Management, which helped her continue to build analytical skills in a real-life setting.

Along with her academics, Wang utilized her experience at Mount Holyoke to explore different sports. She learned to play squash and climb outdoors, but she is most proud of being a member of the rowing team. Wang rowed for the College for one and a half years and got on the team without having any prior rowing experience.

“I had a background in cross-country running. I saw a post on Instagram that said the rowing team was recruiting. The experience was intense. We needed to get up at four fifty in the morning. I thought maybe I would not be able to make it, but I did it,” she said. “I want to thank my teammates. We had a group of four to five students, and if you didn’t wake up, your group would knock on your door and wake you up.”

Wang intends to attend graduate school and has already been accepted to the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University and is waiting for Columbia University’s decision to release in late March.

“I’m going to graduate school for economic policy. I am so grateful that Mount Holyoke has provided such amazing opportunities to explore my academic interests and grow more than I can imagine,” she said.