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 Ariah Barth and I graduated with an MA in International Trade and Economic Diplomacy from the Middlebury Institute in 2020. My language of study was Spanish and my specialization was in Financial Crime Management. While a student at the Institute, I served as a graduate research assistant with the Center for the Blue Economy and traveled to Cuba on a J-term course. I interned with Biogen in Boston, Massachusetts, and was subsequently offered a job there as a specialist in global trade compliance. After a promotion at Biogen, I accepted a new position earlier this year as senior analyst for global trade compliance with Neurocrine Biosciences in San Diego, California.
I found my internship with Biogen on LinkedIn, and later received a full-time job offer from the internship. A combination of experiences at MIIS helped me get that job. First and foremost, my program coursework on my résumé helped highlight my competency and knowledge of the field I was applying to. But just as important, the language, the international experience, and the individual projects that I was able to develop as a student made me a competitive candidate and helped spark good conversation during the interviews.
After two years at Biogen, I accepted a competitive offer from Neurocrine Biosciences, a smaller biotech company that was more compatible with my life on the West Coast. Here, I get to apply what I learned at Biogen and the Middlebury Institute and help expand the global trade compliance program and support global operations and expansion initiatives.
My advice for students would be that whenever it is possible, keep your future job in mind as you develop your papers and projects. Whether it’s a specific company you want to work for, a certain industry you want to work in, or a certain topic you are passionate about, tailoring your projects toward your future career and being able to highlight to employers that you have developed projects around that specific field will make you stand out as a candidate.
| by Benjamin Wollam MAITED ’19
International Trade and Economic Diplomacy alum Benjamin Wollam describes how his MIIS coursework and connections led to his dream job.
MPA graduate Matthew Levie describes how coursework, internships, and support from MIIS faculty helped him on the path to becoming a senior analyst for the GAO.
| by Jessie Raymond
The largely student-run initiative provides students, faculty, and community partners with data analysis services ranging from software training to program evaluation to collaborative projects.
