Alumni

Miranda Taylor

Class of 2011

I graduated from UNC Asheville in May 2011 with a degree in international studies and two minors in Asian Studies, and Spanish. While at UNC Asheville I participated in the honors program, Omicron Delta Kappa, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and Sigma Delta Pi, in which I served terms as treasurer and then as president. The many study abroad opportunities that UNC Asheville offers was an integral part of furthering my understanding of international studies. The summer after my freshman year I went on a UNC Asheville-led study abroad trip to Bolivia. Later in my junior year I spent a semester studying at the University of Hyderabad in India. My study abroad experiences helped me to strengthen and broaden my foreign language skills and to understand the problems that developing countries face as they cope with change. I received the Manly E. Wright Valedictory Award for first in scholarship at the Spring 2011 Commencement.

In fall 2011, I will begin my graduate studies in international affairs at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs in Washington, D.C. After completing my graduate studies, I hope to enter a diplomacy and/or security related career in the federal government. I believe that the interdisciplinary nature of the international studies major has prepared me well for graduate studies and a career in the dynamic environment of international relations.