Each year the TAM program enrolls both international and US students from a variety of backgrounds and academic disciplines. Many students have studied abroad or have worked in an international capacity, bringing this experience to bear on their work in the TAM program. This page profiles some of our current TAM students and graduates. It offers a glimpse of the people who pursue a TAM degree and how they parlay that achievement into an exciting and fulfilling career.
Class of 2005 • Sandi Chapman
TAM graduate, Sandi Chapman, discusses her experiences in the TAM Program in this on-line video. Sandi graduated from TAM in 2005 and is currently pursuing a PhD in Political Science at UNC-CH. To view this clip, you will first need to install RealPlayer at http://www.real.com/player.
Please access the video at: http://distance.unc.edu/interview_pages/play.php?vid=21
Class of 2008 • Amanda S.
Amanda earned a UNC-CH BA in International Studies with Concentrations in Western Europe and International Politics, as well as a BA in French. As an undergraduate, Amanda studied in Paris for both Spring 2005 and 2006 at Sciences Po. During the summer of 2004 she studied at the National University of Singapore. Amanda worked as a Congressional Intern in the Offices of US Senator Landrieu, US Representative Barton, US Representative Farr, and US Senator Robb over the summers of 2000-2003. In addition, she has worked as a French translator, an IT Services Student Assistant, and as an Assistant French Teacher at a Language Center Montessori Day School and for the Quality Language Foundation. She interned in the Press Service of the Embassy of France in Washington, D.C. during the summer of 2007. Amanda speaks French and a little Chinese. While engaged in her overseas TAM modules at Sciences-Po, Amanda gave a conference paper at the Alternative Diplomacy Conference the American Graduate School of International Relations in Paris. She plans to intern during the Summer of 2008 at the U.S. Department of State's American Presence Post in Toulouse after completing her Specialist Module.
"There are so many things that I could say about how much I enjoyed taking classes with such a diverse group of students from all over Europe and the world, speaking and writing in French, attending many interesting conferences on diverse themes in political science, and taking classes with world experts on European Integration at Sciences Po...the list just goes on and on!"
Class of 2007 • Desirée S.
Desirée S. is from Staten Island, New York. She graduated from NYU magna cum laude in May 2006 with majors in Honors History and Italian Studies and a minor in Fine Arts. Desirée also studied abroad at NYU in Florence. As an undergraduate, she focused her coursework and research on interactions between different immigrant and racial groups within the United States. As a TAM student, she studied in Siena, focusing her research on migration and multiculturalism within the EU. Her TAM thesis, written under the direction of Professor John Stephens, entitled The Formation of Immigration Law in Italy: Between Policy, Parties, Press and Public Opinion in 2007, was an analysis of the overall socio-political climate affecting the creation of new citizenship and immigration laws under the Prodi government. Since graduating from TAM in December 2007, Desirée has served as an ESL tutor with the NYU/Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture and the International Center in New York, two organizations devoted to helping new immigrant arrivals from many different countries and circumstances in their adjustment to life in the United States. In 2008, Desirée was named a Presidential Management Fellow and has taken on employment in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security. She now aspires to understand the realities of migration management from the governmental perspective and work on policy in the future.
On the strengths of TAM: "The TAM program placed me with a group of people who were well-traveled and thoughtful, with whom I could have an engaging conversation, about things that really matter in the world. This allowed me to feel at ease discussing politics and increasing my overall awareness of the different issues we individually cared about. These TAM alumni are now friends of mine, who I have since met across Europe and the United States, as they continue to pursue their careers and travel. We are, in many ways, a like-minded group which, in turn, has created a level of comfort and support allowing for even greater successes. This environment was created by Sarah Hutchison, our program coordinator, who has advised and assisted us throughout the course of the program and ever since. She gives TAM sincerity, in her honest commitment to our personal and professional progress."
On the academic structure of TAM: "While at UNC in Chapel Hill, there was a strong course structure that gave me the necessary political science foundation. However, during my time in Siena, I found the flexibility I needed to focus my coursework and individual research on the issues that mattered to me. As a result, I developed a specialization and gained the authority to formulate a strong thesis. This is largely because TAM allowed me to not only study what I loved from the library, but to live within it. I saw my research unfolding in daily newspapers, as the tensions between immigrants and natives caused deaths and outbursts across Italy, and felt the raw emotion, walking by the very scene of one such incident, which drew national and international attention and forced center-right and center-left politicians to take positions on how to address the immigration reality. I engaged with professors working out the data on perceptions of migrant criminality and heard the story of the pizzaiolo who came from Morocco, all giving me a more authentic and complete understanding of immigration into Italy. By immersing you in the environment and issues you study, TAM allows for both personal growth and scholarly achievement."
Class of 2007 • Camilo R.
Camilo R. grew up in Nebraska. He graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln receiving degrees in International Studies and Spanish. He spent two academic semesters abroad in both Costa Rica and Argentina. While in Nebraska, he interned for the E.N. Thompson Forum for World Political Issues - a lecture series that brings the world's most influential leaders to speak at Nebraska. Camilo has studied Spanish, French, German and Arabic. He is now engaged in his TAM coursework in Madrid. He interns for CNN Spain and for GEES (a strategic studies think tank).
Camilo explains: "TAM has been an incredible experience. As a semester highlight, our trip to Washington DC not only allowed us time to get our Visas J, but also included a briefing at the State Department, the World Bank, meetings with European dignitaries, as well as a reception with former TAM alumni. The opportunity to interact with, and get a first hand account from students just returning home from Madrid, Berlin, Siena, etc. was invaluable. It was also refreshing to see that TAM alumni are both seeking and receiving employment through various fields that tailor to each student's individual interest. The small size of each TAM class promotes this extended network of young professionals, and is something I plan to tap into upon graduation."
Class of 2006 • TAM Alumni • Erin O.
Erin O. earned her BA in History and International Politics from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX in May 2004. She then worked at her alma mater as the assistant to the Distinguished Professor of International Affairs. Next, Erin enrolled in the TAM program and studied in Prague and Bath. While in Prague, she interned with Global Civic Concepts. Her research interests ranged from the responsibilities and implications of international intervention, the International Criminal Court, and the concept of historical memory and its link to post-war reconciliation. For her master's thesis, she wrote about the seemingly contradictory correlation between international peacekeeping missions and sex-trafficking. After her graduation in December 2006, Erin took a job as an Associate in the firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC, where she currently is a government consultant under the firm's Washington Federal Practice division. Erin passed the Foreign Service Oral Exam in April 2008 and hopes to soon undertake her A-100 training.
Class of 2006 • TAM Alumni • Nicole B.
Nicole B. is a Dutch-American citizen who was born in the US and raised in the Netherlands. She speaks Dutch, English, French and German. She earned a BA in Social Science from University College Utrecht in May 2003. In June 2005 she received her MA in Political Science from Leiden University. Nicole interned in the Human Rights Department of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Her research interests focused on security and defense as well as on the relationship between the EU and its member states. Nicole completed her overseas modules at the University of Bath and graduated with her TAM MA from that institution. Nicole now works for VNG International - the International Co-operation Agency of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities. She is a Junior Project Manager for the Central and Eastern Europe Division in The Hague.
Nicole writes: "Why I love TAM. The overall reason is that it's an extremely flexible program that is able to tailor to every student's needs. You pretty much get to create your own MA program, with regards to the country in which you wish to study, the university from which you want to graduate, the type of courses you are interested in taking, and the list goes on. I have to say that I could not have imagined a better group of people to have spent my TAM-period with, which includes my TAM classmates, the staff at UNC, but also all the people you meet along the way in Europe. You are constantly surrounded by students, professors and advisors who understand and stimulate a student's desire to learn more about world politics in the classrooms at UNC, argue about the future of US-EU relations at the organic food market in Carrboro, meet and debate with a U.S. Senator during the TAM Fall break trip, have a croissant with your new European classmates in a little café in Paris, learn how to speak Czech, write your dissertation at a 'security and defense' research center in London; in other words: to do it all., and all in just one year! I guess that is why I love TAM."
Class of 2006 • TAM Alumni • Erin M.
Erin M. is from Annapolis, Maryland. She recently graduated from William and Mary with a degree in Government and Hispanic Studies. As an undergrad, Erin ran track and cross country and lived in the Spanish House. In addition, she studied abroad in Cadiz, Spain. During the summer of 2004, Erin interned with the Fulbright Office in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the Department of State. She speaks English, Spanish and French and spent her overseas TAM modules in Madrid. Erin 's research interests involved international peacekeeping organizations, the changing relationship between globalization and national identity, and the EU's role in the global arena. She graduated with the UNC MA in Political Science Concentration TransAtlantic Studies. She has recently taken a position as an Associate in the firm of PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Mclean, VA. Erin works as a consultant in their government affairs division.
Erin writes: "I'd like to say how grateful I am to the Center for European Studies and to UNC for creating such a unique and rewarding program for students like me. I know that during my senior year at William and Mary I was not looking for a typical graduate program - in fact, I wasn't sure I wanted to go straight to graduate school at all, unless I could find a path of study that suited my desire for travel and adventure. I found all that (and more) in the TransAtlantic Masters Program. By choosing the TAM Program, I won the chance to earn a prestigious and valuable academic degree. At the same time however, I learned more about myself and my abilities than I ever would have had I stayed in the United States.
I loved and appreciated both aspects of the TAM Program. During my semester at UNC I gained a new love for the Tar Heels and the new feeling of being a part of a huge academic and athletic institution (which meant a lot coming from a small school with many budgetary restraints). I also discovered that I love the EU! I find it truly fascinating, so it was easy to immerse myself in studying. My time in Spain was also a deeply influential period in my life. I took full advantage of my proximity to legendary European sites, my scattered friends in various parts of Europe, and various travel options. I was able to meet relatives in Ireland. I explored the Louvre, road in a boat on Loch Ness in Scotland, and heard the cheers of a World Cup match in Berlin. These are not things that can be learned and experienced in a typical graduate program, and the friends I've made, from all different parts of the world, are very dear to me."
Class of 2002 • TAM Alumni • Adrianne George
Adrianne George received her undergraduate degree from UNC in 2002. She had the opportunity to go abroad twice during her college career. She spent her sophomore year in Lancaster, England, attending the University of Lancaster, and she lived in Sevilla, Spain during the last semester of her senior year. As a TAM student, Adrianne studied in Madrid and Bath earning her MA from the University of Bath in 2003. While writing her thesis, Adrianne relocated to DC and worked as an intern at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She was later hired as a full-time CSIS employee and held the position of Program Coordinator for the Biotechnology and Public Policy project until she went to work at the Department of Defense in the summer of 2005. During her time at CSIS, she had the opportunity to participate in two academic conferences. She went to the SAIS Bologna Center in July 2004 to present her paper entitled, "Continuity or Change: The CFSP and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict," and to the London School of Economics in July 2005 to present her paper, "Promoting Ethics and Security: The RRF as an EU Foreign Policy Tool."
Transatlantic Masters (TAM) photos taken at sites across US and Europe TAM grads