Looking back at her undergraduate years, Rachel Pan Bijun maintains that enrolling in GIR (now GAD) in 2014 was one of the best decisions she ever made: she is still amazed by the breadth and scope of the classes she took, which allowed her to explore various important subjects such as Political Economy, Sustainable Development and International Organizations. While in GIR/GAD, Rachel could acquire a holistic preparation, discover her true academic interests and develop a real “international mindset”, and, as she says, “the ability to analyse the world and its issues from different perspectives and, most importantly, to think critically.”

Rachel Pan

During her sophomore year at GIR/GAD, Rachel also participated in a summer programme at Cornell University: in this experience she familiarized herself with the “American approach” to learning, and convinced her to apply for graduate schools in the United States upon completion of her undergraduate degree. When she finally graduated from UIC, in fact, Rachel received offers from several prestigious universities, such as the University of Wisconsin and the University of Georgia, but influenced by her previous volunteer experience in Indonesia, she ultimately decided to go for a Master's degree in Public Administration and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh.

Rachel, in fact, recognized early on that intersection of public administration and information technology would prepare her well for a number of jobs in both public and private sectors, as well as in academia, given the fact she would able to complement her political and socio-economic competences with solid skills in the fields of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), programming and data analysis.

Rachel at the University of Pittsburgh

In a way, Rachel’s path somewhat anticipated the very evolution of the GAD Programme: today, in fact, GAD students have the privilege of acquiring this crucial blend of politico-economic competences, international mindset and digital skills right in their very undergraduate studies! Moreover, GAD students can choose between an International Development Concentration and a Public Administration Concentration from their 3rd year onwards!

Rachel has just obtained (June 2021) her dual Master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, but has already interned as a data analyst and a consultant at local nonprofit organizations, performing data mining and various data quality tasks, and even developing “monitoring and evaluation plans” for policies addressing international communities in need. Recently, she contributed as co-author and research assistant to a chapter in the upcoming book “COVID-19 Pandemic, Crisis Responses and the Changing World”, to be published by Springer in August 2021 and edited, among others, by GAD Professors Simon Zhao Xiaobin and Edoardo Monaco.

Rachel and Dr. Edoardo Monaco, Programme Director of GAD

Rachel is now staying in the United States to pursue a career in large public organisations, non-profits, or think-tanks. She believes that her undergraduate studies significantly contributed to her development as a “well-rounded individual” and that the interdisciplinary knowledge and sound digital skills she acquired so far will provide her with limitless opportunities: all of us at GAD firmly agree, and wish this pioneering alumna of ours all the very best that the world has to offer!