| by Katia Mironova MAIPD ’20

People

Mironova, Katia
Katia Mironova MAIPD ’20 (center) with colleagues from the Pan American Development Foundation.
 

Middlebury Institute graduates discuss where they are working today, how the Institute helped them get there, and what advice they’d give to current and future MIIS students.

My name is Katia Mironova and I graduated with an MA in International Policy and Development from the Middlebury Institute in 2020. My language of study was Russian and I specialized in monitoring, evaluation, and design. I am now a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) coordinator at Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) in Washington, D.C.

During my last semester at the Middlebury Institute, I served as an economic affairs intern with the Economic Commission for Latin America in Washington, D.C., through the Institute’s International Professional Service Semester program. After graduation, I was hired as a monitoring and evaluation associate for a large nonprofit in Washington.

UNECLAC IPSS Internship
IPSS fellow, Katia Mironova MAIPD ’20 (center), stands with other interns in the lobby of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), in Washington, DC. UNECLAC is one of five regional UN commissions, with each commission working to improve economic development in their specific region. 

Take Advantage of Every Opportunity

My coursework with Beryl Levinger, Kent Glenzer, and Phil Murphy shaped me to be a great M&E professional and have the necessary skills to secure a position. Specifically, working at the META Lab with Dr. Murphy taught me to embrace different tools, such as R, Excel, and various surveying tools.

My best advice for current students is to recognize that every opportunity, no matter how small or big, is still an opportunity. Take advantage of them as they come and you will end up exactly where you want to go!


Prior to enrolling at the Middlebury Institute, Katia received her Bachelor of Science in Speach, Language, and Hearing Sciences from Purdue University.