Colloquium | Members

Erik Anderson

Erik is a senior at Tufts from San Francisco, California. He is studying French as well as International Relations, with a concentration in international economic development. At Tufts, Erik is a member of 180 Degrees Consulting, which offers pro bono consulting work to non-profit organizations. Most recently, he worked with a startup called Addis Ideas that was establishing itself in Addis Ababa with the goal of promoting local development through the crowdsourcing of information from Ethiopian nationals. His fascination with economic development, foreign affairs, and European culture make him particularly interested in studying both the economic predicament and the refugee crisis faced by Europe today. In addition to his life on campus, Erik has a passion for travel and cooking. 

Ryan Buell

Ryan Buell is a senior at Tufts University, majoring in Psychology. Born in Boston, Ryan moved to Idaho when he was eight years old, where he developed a love of the outdoors, particularly skiing and hiking. At Tufts, his interests include social psychology’s application to political and societal problems, environmental energy policy, and modern European politics. He speaks Italian, learned in his time at Tufts and a semester spent studying the language at the University for Foreigners in Perugia, Italy. In EPIIC, he hopes to explore the cultural underpinnings of the region’s problems, including the ongoing fallout of the Greek debt crisis, the integration of refugees and immigrants, and the rise of separatist movements in Catalonia, Crimea, Flanders, and others.

Maria Ferraz

Maria is a junior transfer student at Tufts University, majoring in Economics. She grew up in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where she attended a German high school and later the University of Sao Paulo. She is fluent in English, Portuguese and German. During the spring of 2014, Maria sailed around the world as a Semester at Sea student, visiting and taking classes in almost twenty countries across Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe. Throughout this program, she was involved with University of Virginia’s Social Entrepreneurship Program and was a Resolution Project finalist with her proposal on malaria prevention. EPIIC's "The Future of Europe" really interests her because she has studied abroad in Stadthagen, Germany and Rome, Italy and because she is passionate about political affairs, economics and newspapers. She hopes to deepen her knowledge in International Relations at EPIIC.

Liam Flaherty

Liam is a sophomore from Sharon, MA, pursuing a double-major in International Relations and German. He is a proud Irish-American whose family has lived in Boston for generations. He was educated in the Sharon Public School system all his life, until going on a Department of State sponsored exchange program called CBYX (PPP) in Germany. He spent his senior year of high school going to a local Gymnasium in Haan, NRW, near Cologne and Düsseldorf, where he experienced German culture and language for the first time. Liam has been interested in Europe most of his life, and that interest has increased in accordance with his experiences. He is planning to study abroad on the Tufts program to Tübingen, Baden-Württemburg in his junior year.

Raasika Gaugler

Raasika is a senior from Basel, Switzerland, pursuing a double major in Computer Science and International Relations. She received her International Baccalaureate Diploma from the International School of Basel, where she became interested in international affairs and had the opportunity to attend sessions of the European Youth Parliament in Switzerland, Zagreb and Tallinn. Her concentration within International Relations is Economic Development, and she is excited about the intersections of her two majors and discovering new ways in which technology can be used to solve problems creatively. Outside of the classroom, Raasika can be found co-directing the International Development Hackathon, showing incoming students the ropes as part of the Global Orientation program at Tufts, and running long distance while exploring the Boston area. Raasika is incredibly excited to be participating in EPIIC this year and is interested in exploring rising nationalist and xenophobic sentiment and reactions toward Charlie Hebdo, the refugee crisis and asylum policies, as well as the politics of memory.

Hannah Gersten

Hannah is a senior from Lake Bluff, Illinois majoring in French and International Relations. She recently spent 14 months abroad in France, studying literature at the Tufts University European Center in Talloires and political science and international relations at Sciences Po in Paris. This immersive and intellectually rewarding experience fueled an existing passion for French culture and contemporary Francophone issues. Hannah spent the summer working as an intern in the Cultural Service at the Consulate General of France in Chicago and is writing a Senior Honors Thesis in French on George Sand’s 19th-century conception of the modern woman. She hopes to live in Paris after graduating.

Josh Golding

Josh is a junior at Tufts University from Summit, NJ, majoring in International Relations. Currently learning Spanish, he hopes to pursue Catalan and Russian as well. Josh was a member of the 2014-15 EPIIC Colloquium on "Russia in the Twenty-First Century." Additionally, he has interned for Sen. Thomas Kean, Jr., Giuliani Partners in New York City, the Hudson Institute's Center for Political-Military Analysis, and will be interning with the US. Department of State in the U.S. Consulate General Barcelona's Political-Economic section in Spring 2016. Josh is interested in security studies involving the Arctic Circle, the Caucasus region, and Latin America, but now hopes to gain a better understanding of Catalan nationalism and Spain's fiscal recovery.

Seth Gray

Seth Gray is a senior at Tufts University from Baltimore, Maryland. He is majoring in English and International Relations with a thematic concentration on Latin America. He has a passion for writing, painting, hip-hop, teaching, baseball, crossword puzzles, and dogs. Last year, he spent eight months abroad in Argentina and Peru—an experience he truly enjoyed and one that greatly improved his Spanish. This past summer, he worked with the Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL) program, teaching Language Arts and preparing his eighth grade students for their transition to high school. He has served as the philanthropy chair for his fraternity, Zeta Psi, and writes for the university's literary magazine, The Tufts Observer. He is aggressively curious and always looking for the opportunity to gain a clearer, deeper understanding about the world.

Adriana Guardans-Godo

Adriana is a Spanish-American citizen born in New York City and raised in Barcelona. She is majoring in International Relations with a regional concentration in Europe and is excited to participate in this year's colloquium to better understand the nuanced changes that are occurring on the continent. In particular, Adriana is interested in exploring how the history and cultural foundation of Europe's member states has influenced their global relations and internal development and hopes to discern potential solutions to address the challenges it faces today. At Tufts, Adriana is a leader of Synaptic Scholars, a student-led group within the IGL based on mentorship and interdisciplinary projects, and a member of the TedxTufts team. In her free time, Adriana enjoys traveling, undertaking creative projects and embarking on culinary adventures.

Paulina Jedrzejowski

Paulina is a freshman at Tufts University interested in double majoring in International Relations with a concentration in Economics and a minor in Mathematics. Born to Polish immigrants in New York City, she calls Poland her heart's homeland. Paulina speaks numerous European languages other than English, including Polish, her native language, Russian, Italian, and Portuguese. Traveling to numerous countries in Europe, most notably Bosnia and Herzegovina with the United States State Department in 2013, she feels there is always something to learn about European history. She often discusses European politics, history, and geographical changes with her parents and grandparents, drawing from both American and Polish sources. Paulina also spent eight months in Brazil with Global Citizen Year last year, volunteering, learning Portuguese, and implementing a self designed community project. Outside of class, Paulina is always dancing and will be joining the Competitive Ballroom Team of Tufts University this year. Paulina is excited and honored to be joining the IGL community, and she hopes to deepen her knowledge of European history and the current European political, economic, and societal situation.