Class of 2020 IV

AALEAH OLIVER

Hometown: Secaucus, New Jersey

Senior Thesis Title: “A Sou Sou in East Harlem and Other Tales of Black Transnational Identity and Placemaking”

As I reflect on my journey to Global College, I remember myself as the high school senior that was tired of my neighborhood, feeling disempowered at home, and feeling no true sense of cultural identity or belonging. One of the greatest gifts I’ve received in Global is the opportunity to see myself in my education: Beyond words that resonate with me, I’ve had the opportunities to reflect on all that I can be if I can imagine it, and to build confidence in my abilities to mold the world in ways I wish to see it. I end my journey with Global safe at home — in the neighborhood that grew me, working and growing beside other Caribbean and African-descended peoples also trying to figure out who they are — and with a heart that is full with gladness and gratitude for all of the experiences, dear friends, and loved ones that showed me how to just be, and constantly remind me that that is more than enough.

DANIELLA PAGANO

Hometown: Long Beach, New York

Senior Thesis Title: “How Local Campaigns and Education Programs Mitigate Plastic Pollution in Oceans in Byron Bay, Australia: The Inner Workings of an Organization’s Success to Educate and Empower a Community for Sustainable Solutions”

Four years ago, I was mentally preparing myself to go to a college that wasn’t LIU Global. Four years ago, I was deciding on a major that wasn’t Global Studies. At that time, I wasn’t thinking about different-sized backpacks, Global Entry, currency exchange rates, and other travel-induced anxieties. Four years ago, I was preparing to enroll myself in a system that I already knew and was good at. I completed my first year at that institution and decided that I learned as much as I could in that type of education, and I left ultimately feeling burnt out. I felt the need to surrender, become vulnerable, and face challenges that I have not encountered before by unlearning and relearning what I’d already been exposed to. Coming to LIU Global wasn’t “the next chapter”; it was “the next novel” of my life. You see, the advertising mechanisms that explain this program do not bring all the dimensions to life in what we really receive with a B.A. in Global Studies. Yes, the degree has given me a substantial amount of knowledge in research, history, culture, and environmental studies. But it has also captured the emotions I felt while on top of the Duomo with my friends, and being in the still water of Taveuni, Fiji. The B.A. in Global Studies explains the laughter filling my belly when I pulled two all-nighters in New Zealand, and how delighted I felt when the baristas knew my name and coffee order in a place I’d only lived in for a month. And the program certainly doesn’t reflect the way Byron Bay, Australia, and its people will always have a special place in my heart. This is because Global Studies is more than just the skills I’ve received; it’s the experiences I’ve shared and will forever cherish with loved ones, from having a lecture on a ferry to skipping in the streets with professors on an ice
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cream high, from collaborating with students in Bali on incredible projects to having a spontaneous dance party on a small beach in New Zealand. The moments where I’ve felt stuck, my friends have supported me and let me be in tune with the vulnerable side that I try to hide away. This is also where “unlearning and relearning” comes in unconventional ways. It was when I thought I was the worst version of myself that I took the most away from those obstacles and applied them to my own personal growth. That’s how I view my “Global Studies”; I studied myself, checked in and held myself accountable, allowed people I care about to help me, and made the most of each location. Thank you to this “novel,” to the “characters” who participated in it, and to the locations these chapters have unraveled in. I’m ultimately proud of the story I’ve written. I’m proud of the story I’ve become.

NICOLE PRICE

Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland

Senior Thesis Title: “Youth Empowerment and Identity through Transformative Theater: A Case Study of Mass Transit Street Theater and Video” & “Landing On Your Feet: How Mass Transit Theater Company is Empowering Youth in The Bronx”

Listen to the song “4EVER” by Clairo while reading. There is this song that I have been humming since the beginning of the final semester; whenever I think about this wild journey, it somehow eases its way into my head. As I look around at my class, I get flashes of moments and memories, like when we were all on the island of Guna Yala in Panama, dancing around a fire and having our laughs echo across the ocean. I had the lyrics of this song beating in my heart when we all first opened up to each other… sharing our stories and histories… the first time we laughed so hard we cried and cried so hard we laughed.
Is it ever gonna change? Am I gonna feel this way forever? Are you gonna be around for me to count on, yeah?
Every time I hear Loaf’s and Leah’s laughs, I get glimpses of us sitting in the front row at a bunch of amateur comedy clubs in Taiwan. Whenever anyone mentions karaoke, I think of everyone in a small KTV in China singing at the top of our lungs.
Some things just never seem to fade I’m thinking ‘bout how we were on our first date You once stood, the words are stained
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I knew I’d never let you get away
I used to associate campfires and starry night skies with my childhood camping trips, but now I can only think of our intense moments in the Brewarrina and Lighting Ridge, Australia. We heard the original histories of the land we were on and held each other tight as we talked all through the long nights and bus rides, with our professor Nigel’s music setting the soundtrack for the trip.
Hold you tight, squeeze you right, give you all I’ve got See you in the morning, over coffee, we’ll talk, oh.
Now we are all in the big city of New York, sharing our last moments fully together as a class as we catch each other up in the various coffee shops around Brooklyn and reflect on how much we have grown. We are hearing our wonderful professors teach us for the last time. This is a time of lots of lasts, yet all I can help but think of is the future. Our futures of changing the world, creating art, and still being the best family I’ve ever had. I know I was probably supposed to write about our accomplishments and milestones, but I want us to be able to re-read this and remember this feeling, these moments, and how much love was shared over these amazing four years in these places we now call home. The song repeats,
Is it ever gonna change? Am I gonna feel this way forever? Are you gonna be around for me to count on?
I’m lucky enough to know that it won’t be like this forever, and yes we are going to keep changing, but I’ll always be able to count on the Class of 2020. And you’ll always be able to count on me.

JULIA ROSOFF

Hometown: Durham, North Carolina

Senior Thesis Title: “Access to Quality Education Programs for Refugee Youth: A Comparison between Vienna, Austria and New York, U.S.A.”

When I was planning my college career, I knew I was not going to be able to sit still. I had been a learner who was constantly moving, constantly seeking inspiration in order to feel at peace. I walked onto many college campuses in the U.S., and though they were all very beautiful, with their old brick buildings and ivy crawling up the walls, I could not picture myself returning to the same campus year after year. When I came across Global College, I immediately knew this was the learning experience I wanted to pursue. There was no other education like it — to be able to experience the world and learn about other communities from community members themselves meant more, to me, than anything. At the beginning of the program, I was nervous. I really could not comprehend the emotional journey I was about to embark on. The first semester opened my awareness of global and regional issues to the point of being uncertain about where I wanted to focus my academic interests. As I kept moving forward in Global, a stronger sense of what I wanted to pursue came to fruition. I became very interested in academic environments and what inspires learners to learn. This came from my own inherent need to understand where my passion was sparked, since Global had expanded my scope so much further than I had dreamed. Without Global, I would not have thought to be invested in what it meant to have a good education, to be immersed in a world where I could learn about the policies and practices of a country from within that country, to be able to see the beautiful marine life of Costa Rica, to see the marine life of Australia. These learning experiences have shaped the way I view and respect the world around me.
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In all of my experiences within Global, nothing will replace the deep and meaningful connections that have been fostered with my peers. We have become such a strong and resilient family. We have worked hard together and supported each other through an array of intensities. My Global family has made this experience the most lifechanging and impactful one I will ever have, and so I am very grateful. I am grateful and thankful for every single person who has been on this journey alongside me, challenging me to grow and think in ways that I never thought imaginable. My love and admiration go out to you. Thank you :)

ROB SCOTT

Hometown: Westchester, New York Senior

Thesis Title: “Does the Judicial Sector of the Government in Bosnia and Herzegovina Hold Perpetrators Accountable for Paying Reparations to Victims of the War?”

“The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.” — Emily Dickinson

This is how I try to live my life every day, but I will always reflect on the amazing experiences I have had with my peers over these last four years. The people you see in this booklet are some of the smartest and kindest people on this earth. Empathy emanates from them, and they have all taught me so much. I would like to thank my family for being such a strong support system during this journey. Special thanks go to my mother, Heidi Scott, for telling me to follow my dreams and working tirelessly to help me make them a reality. I don’t know what I did to deserve being surrounded by such amazing humans, but I am eternally grateful. When I read this 30 years from now, I probably won’t remember all the places Global took me so I should probably include those here. My journey began in Costa Rica and ended in Brooklyn, New York. Somewhere along the way I made stops in Budapest, Vienna, Florence, Rome, Sarajevo, Srebrenica, Byron Bay, Suva, Waitabu, Nadi, Auckland, Wellington, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Hangzhou… twice. I am looking forward to seeing where these amazing people end up, and I anticipate the times our paths will cross again.

KATRINA SHAW

Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Senior Thesis Title: “NATO at 70: The Modernization and Reformation of an International Organization”

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” — J. R. R. Tolkien

Summers growing up in America’s “Dairy Land,” Wisconsin, were jampacked with festivals celebrating different cultures. From a young age, I developed an appreciation for the various languages, cuisines, and histories that influenced these groups. From living with a host family in beachy Sonora, Mexico, to attending high school in farmland Ahlen, Germany, my sense of family grew to include more and more members. Upon graduation from high school, I was happy to retreat from the arctic tundra of Wisconsin to college in sunny Florida. However, it became clear to me that majoring in Global Studies should be supplemented by contact with the world rather than only reading about it in a textbook. When I stumbled upon information about LIU Global, I knew I had found the right school. Every moment has been filled with a new adventure, whether it be something sweet like making new friends, something sour like trying yak butter tea in culturally Tibetan China, or even something challenging, like attempting to learn Moroccan Arabic, each experience has taught me more than any textbook ever could. I have since had the immense privilege of studying in Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Morocco, Spain, Taiwan, and the United States. My path with LIU Global may be coming to an end, but my journey in life is just beginning. I am excited to start this next chapter and am confident that no matter what the future holds, I have used and will continue to use each moment to its fullest so that I may greet the future with a smile. Here’s to us, Class of 2020!