Two Campuses, Two Perspectives

Laura Saiki Chaves
Master of Arts ’16
International Development
Home Country: Peru
First Year: SAIS Europe

Laura decided to attend the school for its international orientation and economic focus. She was impressed by the curriculum as well as the opportunity to study on two different campuses in Bologna, Italy and Washington, DC, which has been instrumental in widening her understanding of international relations.

Laura chose to concentrate in International Development (IDEV) because she has always been extremely interested in development. In Peru, she observed important issues like extreme poverty, vast inequality and high levels of social and economic exclusion that needed to be addressed and she wants to gain a better understanding of the driving forces behind these issues. In her academic career at Johns Hopkins SAIS, she was especially excited for the opportunity to be involved in the IDEV practicum where she and two other students traveled to Cairo in January 2016 to carry out a project regarding gender attitudes in the Middle East and North Africa. According to her, it was a great opportunity to get firsthand knowledge of the complexities of the region.