Summer Fellows Gain Hands-On Experience with Colombia's Post-Conflict Challenges

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Thanks to the generous support of the Robert and Susan Trice International Fellowship Endowment and the Class of 1970 Endowment, the Global Research Institute sends at least 20 undergraduates abroad each year to conduct research under the mentorship of dedicated William & Mary faculty members and in-country organizational partners with the aim of generating novel insights on global challenges. Summer Fellows have worked on projects ranging from measuring intercultural competence skills among K-12 youth in Bosnia & Herzegovina, to interviewing Russians living in exile in Georgia, to understanding barriers and drivers to parents’ childhood vaccination behaviors among the Maasai in Kenya.

In Summer 2024, GRI sent three students to Bogotá, Colombia to work with AidData Senior Research Analyst Dr. Nara Sritharan and GRI Post-Doctoral Research Fellow Dr. Adriana Rudling to research the humanitarian demining provisions under the 2016 Final Peace Agreement between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Brady Garrett (International Relations & Finance, ‘26), Clara Whitney (Film and Media Studies & Creative Writing, ‘25), and Tomasina Pearman (Psychology & Government, ‘27) spent six weeks on the ground analyzing how different stakeholders, from the Colombian government, to non-profit organizations, to ex-guerilla members, are working through the challenges of stewarding Colombia towards a positive, productive, and inclusive future. Tomasina shares: “We got to take an inside look at the structure of the Colombian government, and understand where some of its internal workings fall short at addressing the very pressing issues of a post-conflict country.” 

While in Bogotá, Brady, Clara, and Tomasina were also able to attend the 2024 Latin American Studies Association Convention (LASA) at Universidad Javeriana to hear directly from experts in the field on the latest research findings related to the Colombian conflict. Clara reflects on the conference as being an “incredibly eye-opening” experience that deepened her understanding of the issue of demining. She says, “Attending this conference was vital in my understanding of the context of our research.”

Their Summer Fellows experience in Colombia sharpened their analytical research skills, improved their Spanish, and clarified their understanding of what they want to do with their careers. Brady states, “I’ve been an international relations major since I came into college, but I didn’t really know where I wanted to go with that degree or what I wanted to do. Getting to have these experiences have impacted my career trajectory in totally different ways and I think it’s really helped shape my perspective and how I hope to carry myself professionally.”