Colloquium | Members

Sookrit Malik

Sookrit is a Khemka Fellow studying International Relations and Entrepreneurial Leadership at Tufts University. He lives in a small town called Panipat in rural India. He attended an elite boarding school at the foothills of the Himalayas called ‘The Doon School’ before joining Tufts. A very passionate social entrepreneur with a knack for developing profitable social enterprises, his latest project “The Udaan Initiative” has proved to be very effective against substance abuse and unemployment at the ‘Bindal Slum’ in Dehradun. He has had the honor of presenting Gwyneth Sorenson, Under Secretary of the United Nations, with a comprehensive resolution to the Libyan Crisis during the WEMUN Conference in China.  He loves to make films in his free time. He was the lead actor in a Oscar Nominated Directors film in 2011. He is also a successful public speaker with a Distinction in the field from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. He has also been the keynote speaker and panelist at multiple leadership conferences including the TGELF Harmony 2012. He is currently developing a company called “Social Mechanics” to connect ground level NGO’s with Corporates, Academics and Social Entrepreneurs in order to undertake effective and efficient social change.   He wants to explore the development of social entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa. Using and improvising the business models from this region, he wishes to create companies that can rapidly set up and operate in developing countries boosting employment and lifestyle.

Josh Malkin

Josh Malkin is a senior at Tufts majoring in psychology and community health. He is originally from just outside of Albany, NY. Josh was drawn to EPIIC this year because of the emphasis on global health. He is especially interested in homelessness and food insecurity and how each affects health. He is currently working with the Somerville Homeless Coalition and Shape Up Somerville to institutionalize a local “Food Rescue” operation that will deliver otherwise thrown out excesses to underserved populations. Josh is excited by the opportunities EPIIC has to offer.

Giovana Rodrigues Manfrin

Born and raised in Brazil, Giovana began her undergraduate career in international relations at a community college in Miami, Florida. There, she got involved with Model United Nations. Soon after, she was playing the politician, the analytical thinker, the builder of successful resolutions to conflicts, and, eventually, the debate captain of the team. Yet, it was not until she met her first IR professor, a Greek-German intellectual, friend and mentor, that she became deeply (and closely) involved with European affairs. Working with her professor, their ideas gave rise to the debut of The Diplomat, an undergraduate think tank of foreign policy on campus. From Matteo Renzi to Germany's hegemony, from British populism to Greek loan programs, the weekly discussions were thought-provoking. She transferred to Tufts avid to enhance her culture of inquiry, analysis, research, and scrutiny of the European and global arena. More than any other endeavor, EPIIC reminds her of the reason she came to Tufts. EPIIC's theme this year will not only entice her mind fervently; it will make her nostalgic about the lattes, peers, and professors who helped shape her intellectual drive. To them she cheers and owes the energy, overnight readings, and most of all, the anchored passion she is about to dedicate to unraveling The Future of Europe.

Samira Manzur

Samira Manzur is sophomore from Dhaka, Bangladesh. She’s hoping to major in International Relations and Economics and is chasing the near-perfect balance of imbalance in life. Samira’s interests range from understanding socio-economic dynamics to documenting stories to creating comic strips. She owes a large portion of her growing passion for politics and human rights issues to 19th and 20th Century literature, and the moment when Nora Helmer slammed the door behind her in A Doll’s House. After spending the summer in her home country, Samira is excited to start her year with EPIIC and delve into learning and understanding the various dynamics of the MENA region. 

Jack Margolin

Jack is a junior from Atlanta, Georgia, majoring in International Relations and Russian. Prior to studying at Tufts, he received his International Baccalaureate from the Atlanta International School, where he developed an interest in foreign affairs and international diplomacy. At Tufts, his IR concentration is International Security, with an academic focus on the politics and security of the former Soviet Union. His interests include youth engagement in Russian politics, relations of the former republics, and security in the Caucasus. Jack continues his academic interests extracurricularly as a delegate and social chair for Model United Nations. This past summer, he took part in an immersive language program at the Davis School of Russian at Middlebury College in order to prepare for studying abroad in St. Petersburg in the spring, where he will conduct research in coordination with EPIIC.

Vance Matthews

Vance Matthews is a freshman from Monterey, California who is interested in majoring in either international relations or economics.  In high school, Vance was involved in student government, speech and debate as well as community service.  He founded a fiscally focused non-profit to aid students affected by cancer, and was a California Scholarship Federation regional recipient.  Vance’s interest in Russia began while he was an ESL counselor during the summers of 2012 and 2013.  Through this program, he tutored foreign students, including Russians, in English.  

Jackson McGlinchey

Jackson is a sophomore at Tufts University from Norwell, MA, majoring in International Relations with a focus on international security. He maintains a deep interest in the interconnectedness of world events as well as the question of when to use force and when to use diplomacy. On campus, Jackson is a member of Tufts Model United Nations, wherein students act as delegations in simulated United Nations assemblies on historic and current issues. In addition, he is also a member of CIVIC, a political discussion group on campus, as well as the Trivia team and the Tufts Baking Society. In EPIIC, he hopes to delve deeply into the issues of diplomacy versus force and the wider theme of chaos and order in the world, and he is excited to learn from the many different perspectives that EPIIC brings to the table.

Jay Messenger

David Meyers

David is a senior majoring in International Relations and Community Health. During his time at Tufts he has worked on a water project in Uganda with Engineers Without Borders, a health assessment program in the Dominican Republic, community research in Kenya, and with Nyaya Health in rural Nepal. He co-founded the Village Zero Project, a cholera tracking initiative in Bangladesh, and is a co-president of the Tufts Undergraduate Global Health Network. He is also a seeker and former captain of the Tufts Tufflepuff Quidditch Team.

Elissa Miller

 

Elissa Miller is a senior from Mamaroneck, New York, majoring in International Relations with a focus on international security. She has been studying Arabic at Tufts since her freshman year and hopes to go abroad to the Middle East after graduating to immerse herself in the culture and work towards fluency.  At Tufts, Elissa has been active in Pi Sigma Alpha, the Political Science Honors Society. Elissa spent last summer interning in Washington, D.C. at the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty as a Tisch Active Citizenship Summer Fellow. She hopes to apply what she learned about nonprofit coordination and social justice advocacy to working at a nonprofit in the Middle East. Eventually, she hopes to continue her education by pursuing a graduate degree in international security in Washington, D.C. Elissa is excited to spend her last year at Tufts delving into the complexities of the Middle East with the EPIIC program and expanding her knowledge on such a ceaselessly fascinating region.