Jessica M.

In December 2018, I graduated university with a Bachelor of Government and International Relations and a Bachelor of International Business from Griffith University. I received the Valedictorian for my graduating cohort after receiving the highest overall GPA for my degree, with a cumulative GPA of 6.499. With this I was honoured to give the student address at our graduation ceremony. In addition to this, during my undergraduate double degree I gained the highest GPA in two courses; Australian Foreign Relations and Business Logistics. After graduation, I lived overseas in London for two months doing an internship with Humanists International. During this internship I assisted the Director of Communications with research and policy development. A major task I completed was to research for and write the annual ‘Freedom of Thought Report’ which analyses countries worldwide on their human rights standards, especially with regard to freedom of thought and religion. Through successful participation in this internship, I have been selected to represent Humanists International in Geneva at the United Nations Human Rights Council in July 2019. This opportunity allowed me to attend the 41st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council and deliver four speeches to the council. During 2019, I will be completing honours for my Bachelor of Government and International Relations degree. My honours thesis is focused on the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ doctrine and its role in international humanitarian intervention. In addition to this, I am employed by the Griffith University School of Government and International Relations as a research and teaching assistant. As a research assistant, my role is to analyse data from a wide range of sources to assist the Senior Lecturer at the Griffith Asia Institute with writing research and journal articles. I have worked as a teaching assistant for the School of Government and International Relations since March 2017 where I am responsible for assisting the workshop instructor in an Introduction to International Relations course. The role involves teaching university students about the nuances of international politics and the challenges of working in an international political environment with differing foreign policies deployed by each State. I have previously worked as a residential advisor and senior residential advisor on campus for two years. Through this role, I have developed strong interpersonal and leadership skills which will be integral to successfully completing this role. I have also been recognised professionally as an outstanding employee and leader, being elected as the ‘Most Valuable Player’ for both years during these roles.