International Relations and Global Studies | College of Liberal Arts
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Current Student Perspectives

Aruna Muthupillai


Year: Freshman
Major: International Relations & Global Studies, Plan II
Track: Science, Technology, and the Environment
Area Study: Asian Studies
Language: Chinese
Study Abroad: I don't have one lined up, but I'm thinking I could go to Beijing.


Interests: The intersection with climate policy, especially the bilateral relationship between the US and China that will impact how the global world addresses our climate future.


Extracurriculars: Central Texas Model United Nations, IRG Council, The Daily Texan, Inter-Collegiate US-China Journal


What are you most proud of?: The things that I did in high school that have helped me be academically and financially free here.


Advice: At UT, IRG is unique in that you get a lot of freedom with the major, because you can easily double major. You don’t have to focus on just one thing. And the major helps you better understand the world around you.

To find more or contact, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aruna-muthupillai-947960117/

College of Liberal Arts

Justin Rogers

I chose CMA because there's a little more flexibility there compared to other tracks.

Year: Senior
Major: International Relations & Global Studies
Minor: Entrepreneurship
Track: Culture, Media, & the Arts
Area Study: Middle Eastern Studies
Language: Arabic
Study Abroad: CIEE, Amman, Jordan (Fall 2022)

Interests: How Islam ties into the culture, customs, and the evolution of it as a religion and studying abroad.

Extracurriculars: Real Estate Center, Epsilon Nu Tau (Entrepreneurship Fraternity), Heman Sweatt Center for Black Males, Forty Acres Founders, The Launchpad Capstone: Studying abroad, but particularly black men and their experiences abroad, where they study why they choose to study there. The project explored how they are perceived by the people in that country when they study and what this experience has on like, how they come back, and how they're changed how they're different, or what they take away from this experience.

Capstone Advice: Make the research about you. Don't shy away from writing things that are personal to you, or that you already know about. And I also say have an open mind to what you might find in the data. “I personally would not recommend anyone take the Capstone before they study abroad.

What are you most proud of?: Founding a fraternity, that was a huge achievement for me. And along the way, I got to meet so many other entrepreneurs and people who like to think like me.

Advice: Don't give up keep trying and believe. Entrepreneurship is way more about what you can build and it's so much more of a personal journey and personal growth.

Campus Relaxation/Study Recommendations: Inlet next to Architecture building- it has palm trees, it has chairs, and it’s always very quiet. Life Sciences Library. 5th and 6th floor of the Norman Hackerman Building. The MindBody Labs.

To find more or contact, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinkirshon/

College of Liberal Arts

Carolyn Diaz

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Year: Junior
Major: International Relations & Global Studies (formerly Journalism)
Track: International Security
Area Study: Middle Eastern Studies
Language: Arabic
Study Abroad: School for International Training, Amman, Jordan - Geopolitics, International Relations, and the Future of the Middle East (Fall 2023)

Interests: International development project implementation and programming to make the actual missions of organizations happen and come to life. Policy proposal I wrote for BrumleyNextGen Scholars.

Extracurriculars: Central Texas Model United Nations, International Affairs Society, Women in Foreign Affairs, Brumley Next Generation Scholars

What are you most proud of?: An article that I wrote with in my internship in Malala Fund, “How young woman are making sure Uyghur genocide ‘will not be forgotten’.” I was able to interview these three young woman, these three amazing, powerful young women who are who were speaking out and who were speaking out on their own way on the issue of the Uyghur genocide that's happening in China.

Advice: Every single skill is transferable. And even if it doesn't seem like you're on the right path, you're always always on the right path. Just keep going.

Campus Recommendations: Jackson Geosciences Building, RLP porch, outside Texas Alumni center.

Quotes:

“One thing I love about my major is how it's how we can take classes from a variety of other departments at UT.”

“It like makes it feel as if we're not closed to just one school, and one school of thinking, one school of thought, and instead being exposed to a variety of different things.”