Please join us in Giving Blue!
As we would certainly all agree, 2020 was a very challenging year. The COVID-19 pandemic modified how the Program in International and Comparative Studies (PICS) provided support for the educational and experiential opportunities of our students. With the pandemic curtailing so many PICS students’ international experiences and interrupting everyone’s Winter 2020 semester, our students had to shift to virtual internships and research and to remote learning both in Ann Arbor and in study-abroad programs. Our PICS students, ever resilient, adjusted their plans and participation in their internships and research projects, and transformed them into valuable learning experiences to advance their personal and professional goals. One summer 2020 fellowship recipient noted, “The skills I gained while working in my summer virtual internship perfectly match the skills needed for various career opportunities I will be applying for, and I’ve come away from this summer with a bolstered resume, cover letter, and professional portfolio. I'm now confidently approaching my senior year with stronger, more efficient writing skills, and an experience that could lead to interesting perspectives during discussions. As an International Studies major, I think the experience of an international internship was critical to my development. I'm sure my International Studies major and career will take me to places all over the world, and this summer internship was the first step.” Now, and in these times perhaps more than ever, your gift to PICS will help our students access and get the very most out of their U-M international education and experiences.
This was also a year for great celebration! In 2020, we proudly conferred 227 Bachelors degrees, and celebrated all that our amazing Class of 2020 students have accomplished, including: Hannah Pierce who was the 2019 International Human Rights Fellow, interning at Perseus Strategies where she worked alongside the renowned international human rights lawyer and U-M alumnus, Jared Genser. Hannah was a 6th term Angell Scholar. Matthew Harmon traveled to Kosovo, founded and facilitated Playwriting for Peace, and was the Kathryn Davis Projects for Peace Fellow and a Finalist for the Marshall Scholarship. Victoria Marie Lucas was one of twelve students to attend the University of London, Royal Veterinary College with the CGIS STEM Research program during the summer of 2019. Jillian Li conducted fieldwork in Bali where she combined her interests in learning about other cultures and in documentary filmmaking to create a masterfully moving documentary on the pervasive issue of plastic pollution in the Indonesian province.
On behalf of all of us at the Program in International and Comparative Studies, we want to wish you and yours all the very best this holiday season, and to ask you to remember us when you are planning your charitable contributions this year. Please consider making a donation to PICS online. Thank you for your consideration - GO BLUE!
