Developing the Skillset to Navigate Geopolitics, Public Policy Development, and Foreign Policy

Amber Malone
MAIA '21
 
Prior to attending Johns Hopkins SAIS, Amber graduated from the Croft Institute at the University of Mississippi with a double major in French and International Studies. After her undergraduate studies, Amber joined the University of California, Irvine as a summer research fellow and conducted a study on public housing in Italy and France. This experience, along with her mentor at the time, gave her the push that she needed to secure a future in international affairs that she had envisaged for herself. Amber ultimately decided to apply to SAIS Europe because she wanted to have another experience abroad in a more multicultural environment. She was also confident that the coursework and professors at the school would help her strengthen her writing abilities and the skills that she developed while working in public policy with the ACLU and Mississippi First.
 
As a current student at SAIS Europe, Amber has had so many “once a lifetime” moments – from the Vienna Ball to attending a talk with former EU Commission President Romano Prodi. So far, the most interesting opportunity has been working as a research assistant in the Human Trafficking Chapter with the Center for Constitutional Studies and Democratic Development. In addition to assisting panels, Amber had the opportunity to write about the feminization of security and protections for trafficked victims for the CCSDD student blog. SAIS Europe courses such as Migration & Security and Constitutional Development & Democratization have given her a more well-rounded perspective and have helped her think and write more critically for her internship.
 
After graduating, Amber hopes to pursue a career specializing in security and human rights. Her passion for this field extends beyond general curiosity. For her MAIA thesis, she is writing on the digital transformation of European borders and the human rights implications for refugees. She believes that the strategic promotion of human rights in security and foreign policy can only be advantageous for countries.

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