Two students with a career advisor, seated at a booth, giving a high five

For Prospective Students

Value of an Internship

Internships allow students to explore career possibilities, develop contacts, learn new skills and expand on existing experience. Our team works throughout our students' first year to direct them toward the best internships given their specific career interests. Interns have worked all over the world in a wide scope of jobs and specialties.

Sector & Industries

Graduates found employment in the private, public and non-profit / multilateral sector while others pursued further education. Our graduates are employed in a wide range of industries throughout the word. Following is a sampling of key industries.

Pie charts/infographics showing graduates' employment data in various sectors and industries

Region

Infographic of a map of the continents, with data on regional employment percentages of graduates

Top 5 Cities

San Diego	San Francisco/ San Jose	Washington D.C.	Los Angeles	New York

Top International Cities

Tokyo	Seoul	Beijing

A Sampling of Where GPS Alumni Work

Asia

Lucas Hazen, MIA ‘26

Tokyo, Japan – Japan Research Institute (JRI)

Lucas Hazen served as an economic security research intern at JRI, a think tank and firm that conducts policy research, economic analysis and IT-based consulting for both the public and private sectors. During his internship, he worked alongside the Economic Security Team within the research department on a report examining how advanced economies, such as the U.S. and Japan, can strengthen their domestic solar panel manufacturing. His daily responsibilities include researching the solar panel industry, participating in internal briefings, and offering an international perspective on economic issues. Hazen shared that at JRI, he applied skills gained from his coursework at GPS, including policy writing and global production insights. He noted that this internship expanded his understanding of the role that think tanks play in shaping policy in Japan and deepened his interest in energy and international cooperation.
Chengrun Li, MPP ‘26

Tokyo, Japan – Mitsubishi Research Institute (MRI)

Chengrun Li did a research internship at MRI’s Center for Policy and the Economy, where he contributed to a policy report analyzing the competitive dynamics between China and Japan in the AI and robotics sectors. He focused on identifying industrial strategies and policy tools that have contributed to China’s rapid success, and proposing actionable recommendations for Japanese firms and government agencies. His responsibilities included participating in briefing sessions, attending internal policy seminars, conducting literature reviews and offering Chinese policy case studies relevant to Japan’s innovation strategy. Li noted that he applied skills developed at GPS, including geopolitical insights from the Japan & the Indo-Pacific course and data analysis techniques from Quantitative Methods using R. He shared that this internship strengthened his interest in economic policy research and international technology cooperation.
Sona Ovasapyan, BA/MIA ‘26

Gyumri, Armenia – Alvan Tsaghik Social-Educational Center

Sona Ovasapyan served as the business economics development intern for the center’s Tati Toon Project, a women-led social enterprise supporting displaced women from Artsakh and local residents. She helped build sustainable small businesses through workshops in product management and financial planning, business literacy training and market research for Dutch pastries. She also created marketing materials, managed social media and organized community events. Drawing on her GPS coursework — from data analysis and cost-benefit evaluation to communications and design thinking — she translated classroom knowledge into real community impact in her homeland, helping women reclaim their livelihoods.
Zoe Perera, BA/MIA ‘26

Moratuwa, Sri Lanka — Sarvodaya’s Community-Based Tourism (CBT) Initiative

Zoe Perera interned with Sarvodaya, Sri Lanka’s largest grassroots development organization, as an international development unit intern. She led work in the organization’s CBT initiative, which creates educational travel opportunities in rural areas instead of Westernized tourist hotspots—immersing visitors in authentic culture and natural ecosystems while redirecting tourism revenue to villages, fostering both cultural preservation and inclusive economic growth. Perera traveled to villages across the island to assess the impact of the CBT program and identify opportunities for growth. At headquarters, she developed business plans aimed at securing international certification for the program. Through this blend of hands-on fieldwork, qualitative and quantitative analysis, Perera applied GPS’s rigorous policy and analytical training to advance sustainable and equitable development in Sri Lanka.
Ariel Rosario, MIA ‘26

Trincomalee, Sri Lanka — Sarvodaya

During her internship, Ariel Rosario conducted independent research in affiliation with Sarvodaya and the IUCN, examining the effects of marine conservation on the livelihoods of coastal communities in Sri Lanka. Over the summer, she lived in multiple coastal communities across Sri Lanka, engaging directly with local stakeholders to understand the economic, social, and cultural dynamics shaping marine sustainability. Her research includes qualitative survey work and data analysis using R, grounded in the analytical training she received at GPS. Rosario aims to pursue a career as an international field researcher, with a focus on sustainability and conservation in middle-income countries.
Katie Tuttle, MIA ‘26

Tokyo, Japan — Mitsubishi Research Institute (MRI)

Katie Tuttle conducted independent research as part of the Cyber Security Team and the Green Transformation Team at MRI. As part of the team, she produced a project on the institutional responses to cyber threats on space infrastructure and a project comparing the susceptibility of different nation-states to politically-motivated disinformation on social media. Her noted that her summer research covered a variety of topics, allowing her to apply skills and knowledge she learned from GPS courses including Quantitative Methods, International Politics and Security, Japan Geopolitics, and Business in a Disrupted World. Overall, she shared that this internship has been very rewarding and reaffirmed her goal to pursue a career in research, looking into solutions for a safer and more sustainable world.

Europe

Azalea Buch, MPP ‘26

Frankfurt, Germany – U.S. Commercial Service, International Trade Administration

Azalea Buch is focused on American and Comparative Business Regulation, as well as the Peace and Security tracks, as part of the MPP degree. She shared that her internship’s success was in part due to the skills learned during her first year at GPS, including market research, data analysis and management using Excel, and policy and legislative research. On the ground in Germany, she worked to develop stronger German language proficiency, building professional connections and immersing herself in European culture. Buch noted that experience allowed her to deepen her understanding of U.S.-German commercial relations, explore careers in public service and further leverage the knowledge and skills gained during her time at GPS.
Ofri Mantell, MPP ‘26

Paris, France – Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

Ofri Mantell served as a research intern in the Health Division at the OECD, contributing to a project on strategic hospital planning across several countries. Her work involved conducting research on the legal, infrastructural and economic aspects of hospital systems and recent reforms. She analyzed OECD health data to produce visualizations on hospital capacity and health outcomes, and helped develop a questionnaire for international health experts. Finally, she participated in expert interviews and supported the development of a framework to identify innovative policy levers for improving equitable and efficient access to hospital care, whether through hospital payment mechanisms or service allocation. She shared that the internship built upon the skills she developed during her first year at GPS, particularly in transitioning from describing policy to making policy recommendations and using data-based indicators to inform policy discussions.

Latin America

Marisa Iannitto, MIA ‘26

Santiago, Chile – University of Chile Faculty of Economics and Business (FEN)

Since February 2025, Marisa Iannitto has been working with professor Madeleine Bausch on a project exploring the internationalization of marketplace and intermediary digital platforms. After several months of collaborating remotely, she was able to work in person over the summer in Santiago. In her role, she reached out to businesses across Latin America to bring them into the study, reviewed and analyzed academic literature to inform the team’s publications, conducted interviews with entrepreneurs and business leaders, and drafted sections of research papers. She noted that she applied her training from QMII to quickly master the qualitative coding software, MaxQDA, which helped her uncover themes in the interview data. Through this work, she is contributing to a project that aims to provide practical strategies and policy recommendations to enhance the international reach of digital marketplace platforms in the Latin American region.
Natalia Stehlin, MIA ‘26

Monteverde, Costa Rica — Monteverde Climate Change Resilience Commission (CORCLIMA)

Natalia Stehlin’s internship involved conducting field research in Monteverde, a cloud forest region known for its biodiversity and community-led conservation. She worked with a small, locally rooted team to document how rural communities are addressing the climate crisis through creative grassroots initiatives. Her work included conducting interviews, later turned into video series, writing articles and press releases, and exploring the cultural, political and environmental dimensions of local climate action. Stehlin led the communications strategy for Costa Rica’s first biodiversity-sensitive outdoor lighting campaign and also developed and delivered presentations on ethical, community-based research and supported communications for CORCLIMA’s broader zero-waste efforts. She aims to pursue a career as an international researcher working at the intersection of human rights and climate justice in Latin and Central America.

U.S.-East

Paulina Andreani, BA/MIA ‘26

New York, New York – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Paulina Andreani interned at UNHCR, where she provided key support by attending Security Council meetings, creating internal reports and covering over 20 sessions during the High-Level Political Forum as a reporter. She also collaborated to design floor interventions that showcase key insights on refugees and sustainable development. Andreani reinforced that the skills learned during her political science and policy-making process courses, which involved analyzing and evaluating data for reports, helped guide her decision-making. In addition, the internship helped reinforce her passion and commitment to understanding global issues and finding global solutions.
Juan Morfín de la Parra, MIA ‘26

Washington, D.C. – Mexican Cultural Institute and Embassy of Mexico in the United States

A native of Mexico City, Juan Morfín de la Parra had the opportunity to conduct two internships. First, as a public affairs intern at the Mexican Cultural Institute, he was responsible for networking with stakeholders to expand the institute’s activities and foster strategic partnerships with music schools in the larger D.C.-Virginia-Maryland area. Then he transferred to the Mexican Embassy as an economic affairs intern, where he gained invaluable experience in economic policy analysis, as well as drafting technical reports and notes using data analysis and visualization techniques. He shared that he had the opportunity to apply the econometric and policy analysis skills he acquired during his first year at GPS and was grateful to be part of a job in service to his country, combining his two greatest passions: the arts and economics.
Gerardo Paredes, MIA ‘26

Washington, D.C. — Embassy of Mexico

Gerardo Paredes supported the Office of Hispanic and Migration Affairs at the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C., where he worked on bilateral migration policy, examining the impacts of aggressive immigration enforcement and analyzing key developments affecting Hispanic and migrant communities in the U.S. Paredes contributed to policy briefs analyzing the current U.S. administration’s fiscal policy plans and recently implemented regulatory changes affecting migrant populations nationwide. He also analyzed data on migrant detention trends and participated in meetings between the embassy and U.S. agencies such as DHS and CBP, as well as civil rights organizations including the ACLU. His work integrated field-level experience from Mexico’s consular network with the theoretical and analytical training gained at GPS, including coursework in international migration and data analysis. After graduation, he hopes to pursue a career in public service or international development, focusing on migration and human rights across the Americas.

U.S.-West

Songmouy An, MPP ‘26

San Diego, California (Remote) – Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS)

Songmouy An interned as a non-resident fellow at CSEAS located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She collaborated with other fellows and the deputy director to analyze the economic impacts of U.S. tariffs on Cambodia, applying the quantitative skills she developed at GPS. Additionally, she also conducted sharing sessions with her teammates on an introduction to R and other quantitative methods in policy research. An shared that the internship was closely aligned with her Master of Public Policy degree, where she is focusing on the Policy Design and Evaluation track.
James Avramis, MPP ‘26

San Francisco, California – The Asia Foundation

James Avramis’ internship with The Asia Foundation focused on the Let’s Read initiative, designed to transform early literacy for children and communities across Cambodia and 14 ASEAN countries. He collaborated to revamp outreach strategies and pursue new funding opportunities, aiming to build more sustainable financial support systems that ensure the longevity and scalability of high-impact programs. Avramis noted that he drew heavily on coursework at GPS, such as corporate non-market strategy and business management in a disruptive world. These courses equipped him with the tools to design clear, compelling documents and strategic frameworks, enabling him to contribute actionable and forward-thinking ideas to the team. Looking ahead, he believes that the intersection of business innovation, equitable financial redistribution and humanitarian aid is a space that demands both rigor and compassion, and he is eager to continue developing the skills to lead in this space.
Carter Booth, BA/MIA ‘26

San Diego, California (Remote) – International Development Enterprises (iDE)

As iDE’s business development intern, Carter Booth focused primarily on developing comprehensive donor and partner landscapes for Honduras and Kenya, which were presented to leadership at these country offices. This included detailed data analytics, mapping of potential collaborators and competitors, and the creation of dashboards that summarized metrics such as win rates and average bid sizes by account. He also worked on a team to submit major, multi-million-dollar proposals, including USDA’s Food for Progress and UNICEF’s Global Youth Agriculture Network. Booth shared that the research and analytical skills GPS instilled in him through courses like Quantitative Methods and Policy Making Processes helped with his internship success.
Camarynne Chanthavong, BA/MIA ‘26

Solana Beach, California – Pathways to Citizenship

As a legal intern, Camarynne Chanthavong provided support for immigration legal services to low-income and underserved communities. Her work included preparing immigration forms, drafting legal declarations and conducting client consults. She also researched country conditions and compiled supporting evidence for asylum and humanitarian parole applications. She noted that she used her skills learned at GPS, such as policy analysis, cross-cultural communication, data management, and concise professional writing, which were instrumental to her success. Furthermore, she drew on her training in evidence-based analysis and research methods to compile thorough and accurate documentation to support legal immigration filings.
Tori Gray, MIA ‘26

El Cajon, California – International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Tori Grey served as the workforce and integration intern for the employment division of the IRC, which focuses on assisting newcomers to the country through various programs, including employment services. She worked to find job positions that matched both needs and preferences, and if the client was new to the IRC, she documented their previous work experiences and created their resume. She also worked to restructure the database to track clients and the services they received more efficiently, utilizing skills from QM I and Accounting for Policy Makers. Additionally, Gray developed new learning materials to help individuals understand the U.S. hiring process and learn how to present themselves effectively on job applications, resumes and during interviews.
Michael Khan, MIA ‘26

San Diego, California (Remote) – Hippocratic AI

Michael Khan conducted research for VP of International Emerging Markets Eric Seastedt, where he focused on emerging markets in Africa and Asia, as well as the AI and healthcare environment in those markets and the public perception of AI. He also worked on marketing strategy for Hippocratic AI’s tool and its potential value in emerging markets. Khan shared that he utilized the quantitative skills he acquired at GPS to create visuals using R Studio, incorporating data relevant to the firm’s marketing strategy.
Angelique Nguyen, MIA ‘26

San Diego, California – Thriving Families California (TFC)

Angelique Nguyen interned with TFC, a statewide nonprofit network that supports over 70 community-based organizations serving children and families. She helped design and implement a data collection tool that captures the services, contracts, regional reach and capacities of member agencies. Drawing on one-pagers, administrative data, and stakeholder feedback, she built a policy-relevant dataset that identifies service strengths and gaps across California’s family-serving ecosystem. Using R and other quantitative methods from her graduate coursework, Nguyen noted it helped her to clean, analyze and visualize the data to support high-impact deliverables. She shared that as she continues to focus her studies on social policy and development, she hopes to work at the intersection of data and strategy in the nonprofit or philanthropic sector in the future.
Raquel Padilla, MPP ’26

San Diego, California — Caltrans

Raquel Padilla served as a Government Affairs intern with Caltrans District 11, supporting regional transportation policy, cross-border collaboration, and public engagement initiatives across San Diego and Imperial counties. She contributed to state and binational programs by assisting in the preparation of policy briefings, stakeholder communications and community outreach strategies. Her work bridged local governance and international affairs, grounded in her prior legislative experience and a deep interest in the intersection of infrastructure, public policy, and public service. Padilla hopes to continue applying her policy training to support inclusive development and regional cooperation in the U.S. and beyond.
Angela Passalacqua, MPP ‘26

San Diego, California — San Diegans for Gun Violence Prevention (SD4GVP)

Angela Passalacqua completed a policy and communications internship with SD4GVP, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing firearm-related harm through advocacy, education and policy change. She supported election analysis, public awareness campaigns and strategic messaging, most recently helping launch the “Disarm Hate” initiative and developing an election tracker to assess the impact of local races on gun policy. Passalacqua authored a powerful piece about Gen Z growing up with active shooter drills, titled “From Classrooms to Closets: Gen Z’s Reality,” which is now published on SD4GVP’s website. She noted that her work blends policy analysis with digital storytelling, grounded in the analytical and communications training she received at GPS. Passalacqua ultimately hopes to build a career in gun violence prevention and public policy, with a long-term goal of advancing legislation that saves lives and centers the voices of those most impacted.
Lyna Remadna, MIA ‘26

San Diego, California (Remote) — iDE

In her role as an intern at iDE in the Monitoring and Evaluation branch, she focused on a five-year nutrition project implemented by the organization across six developing countries. Her first year at GPS enabled her to make effective contributions to iDE’s Transforming Lives Through Nutrition project, which aims to improve maternal and child health. She used Excel daily to update nutrition indicators within consortium-developed Performance Indicator Reference Sheets (PIRS) and utilized R to verify her work in Excel and interpret data related to nutrition indicators. Her proficiency in both Excel and R was rooted in her coursework at GPS.
Mo Tao, MIA ‘26

San Diego, California (Remote) — Chinese Academy of Sciences

This summer, Mo Tao completed a remote internship with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, focusing on energy development and transition in Europe and Southeast Asia. She contributed to literature reviews, data analysis and policy interpretation on offshore oil and gas with CCS toward 2035, as well as the environmental impacts of rare earth and critical mineral development in Southeast Asia. The experience allowed her to apply the analytical and policy skills she has been developing at GPS to real-world energy transition challenges.
Claire Turner, MIA ‘26

San Diego, California/Tijuana, Mexico — Al Otro Lado

Claire Turner interned for Al Otro Lado’s Family Reunification Program and Day Laborer Outreach Program. She assisted in the collection and interpretation of data to improve the operations of both departments, as well as assisted staff with the Day Laborer Outreach data collection in the field. Over the summer, Turner assisted staff members in international meetings, collected and organized data and developed an extensive resource directory for the attorneys at Al Otro Lado to provide to their clients. She shared that she utilized both the quantitative and qualitative skills she has learned at GPS, including a deep understanding of the operation of nonprofits through her nonprofit management coursework. Turner noted that she also continued to develop her memo writing skills by corresponding with government officials and representatives to advocate for Al Otro Lado’s clients.
Ziyi Wang, MPP ‘26

San Diego, California (Remote) — Center for Community Energy (CCE)

Ziyi Wang served as a financial analyst intern at the CCE, a California-based nonprofit organization focused on advancing clean energy solutions. This internship aligned with her graduate studies in public policy, where she focuses on environmental and energy economics. During her internship, Wang collaborated with CCE teams to forecast EV charging demand across various land-use categories and modeled pricing feasibility for commercial building EV charging solutions. She developed regression models in R to project electricity prices and identify cost-effective strategies, supporting the organization’s goals in vehicle-to-grid (V2G), vehicle-to-home (V2H) and solar parking projects.
Paul Youngblood, MPP ‘26

La Jolla, California — The Institute of the Americas (IOA)

Paul Youngblood served as a summer research intern at IOA, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting economic development across Latin America and the Caribbean. His work focused on critical minerals positioned to play a major role in global electrification, and he took particular interest in how the region can capture more of the critical mineral value-added chain. In addition to his focus on mining, Youngblood explored renewable and sustainable technologies that could be implemented in climate-vulnerable communities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean for a report intended to be ready for distribution prior to this year’s COP30 in Belém, Brazil. He shared that he applies his skills in policy analysis, energy innovation and geopolitical strategy to research the economic, social, environmental, and political impacts of Latin America’s mining sector. Youngblood hopes to support climate-vulnerable communities in his future career.

U.S. Misc.

Natalia Garcia, MIA ‘26

Springfield, Missouri – Convoy of Hope

As part of the International Program team, Natalia Garcia shared that she gained hands-on experience in the logistics of feeding children worldwide. During the second half of her internship, she worked with feedOne, gaining insight into fundraising and partnership development. She noted that the research and analysis skills developed at GPS helped her support and add value to the projects she worked on throughout her internship. Furthermore, the experience deepened her passion for humanitarian aid and gave her the opportunity to apply her academic training in a real-world context.
Hafeez Merali, MIA ‘26

Pearl Harbor, HI – Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM)

Hafeez Merali served as a research fellow at CFE-DM, which falls under the U.S. Department of Defense’s Indo-Pacific Command, where he worked to create an in-depth report on the response to the 2025 magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar and affected Thailand. That report was designed to help inform humanitarian assistance instructors so that they, in turn, can better teach U.S. military personnel to carry out effective disaster response. In this role, Merali regularly utilized the open-source research skills he honed at GPS, including leveraging AI tools to support methodical and conscientious research. He noted that the regional awareness, knowledge of U.S. security institutions, and language skills he has developed over the first year of his degree enabled him to make the most of his time at CFE-DM.
Salwa Sarpas, BA/MIA ‘26

Denver, Colorado (Remote) — iDE

As an intern with iDE, Salwa Sarpas supported the Global Fund Development team in donor research, prospecting, and data management to advance the organization’s mission of powering entrepreneurs to end poverty. Sarpas conducted desk research to identify and evaluate potential donors, analyzed conference and partnership opportunities, and participated in weekly prospect strategy sessions to provide insights for fundraising initiatives. Additionally, she assisted with knowledge management by organizing and updating records in Salesforce, ensuring accurate and accessible donor information for the team. Through these experiences, Salwa gained hands-on exposure to the fundraising processes of an international NGO and strengthened her skills in research, data organization and strategic communication. Sarpas shared she aspires to become a consultant supporting projects that drive economic development.

Read more career stories → GPS News

For Prospective Students

Value of an Internship

Sector & Industries

Region

Top 5 Cities

Top International Cities

A Sampling of Where GPS Alumni Work

Asia

Lucas Hazen, MIA ‘26

Chengrun Li, MPP ‘26

Sona Ovasapyan, BA/MIA ‘26

Zoe Perera, BA/MIA ‘26

Ariel Rosario, MIA ‘26

Katie Tuttle, MIA ‘26

Europe

Azalea Buch, MPP ‘26

Ofri Mantell, MPP ‘26

Latin America

Marisa Iannitto, MIA ‘26

Natalia Stehlin, MIA ‘26

U.S.-East

Paulina Andreani, BA/MIA ‘26

Juan Morfín de la Parra, MIA ‘26

Gerardo Paredes, MIA ‘26

U.S.-West

Songmouy An, MPP ‘26

James Avramis, MPP ‘26

Carter Booth, BA/MIA ‘26

Camarynne Chanthavong, BA/MIA ‘26

Tori Gray, MIA ‘26

Michael Khan, MIA ‘26

Angelique Nguyen, MIA ‘26

Raquel Padilla, MPP ’26

Angela Passalacqua, MPP ‘26

Lyna Remadna, MIA ‘26

Mo Tao, MIA ‘26

Claire Turner, MIA ‘26

Ziyi Wang, MPP ‘26

Paul Youngblood, MPP ‘26

U.S. Misc.

Natalia Garcia, MIA ‘26

Hafeez Merali, MIA ‘26

Salwa Sarpas, BA/MIA ‘26