RSAB Members 2024-2025
Madison is a junior Feb who majors in International and Global Studies with a concentration in Global Security. As a member of RGF last year, Madison is interested in international diplomacy, policymaking, global healthcare, and the intersection of religion and politics. Outside of RCGA, Madison is involved with research in the political science department and Club Tennis. In her free time, she enjoys running, exploring Vermont with friends, and shooting film photography.
Shayah is a sophomore from Portland, Oregon who majors in Geography with potential minors in Spanish and Biology. He was a member of the third (2023-2024) RGS cohort and is especially interested in human-environment relationships and the physical and biological processes that have and continue to shape our world. On campus, Shayah is a Hillel co-president and language tables enthusiast. In his free time, he enjoys snorkeling and phone photography.
A senior International Politics and Economics major from Brooklyn, New York, Tessa has a strong connection to the Rohatyn Center; she was a member of the inaugural RGS cohort, and this is her second year working as a RCGA intern and RGS mentor. Tessa is interested in a range of international and humanitarian issues, which has led to a variety of work experiences, including at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (Middlebury Institute of International Studies), the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, the Argentine Council for International Relations, and smaller NGOs. She has just returned from studying abroad at the Middlebury School Abroad in Brazil, where she took classes at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina in Florianópolis and the Middlebury School Abroad in Argentina, where she direct enrolled at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires. She returns to Vermont with full fluency in Portuguese and Spanish, a better understanding of international relations, and a few funny stories of her adventures along the way. When Tessa isn’t busy with her classes or running across campus to her meetings in the RAJ, she enjoys hiking, running, painting and playing Ultimate with the Middlebury Pranksters.
Chris is a senior Molecular Biology and Biochemistry (MBBC) and Religion double major from Orrs Island, Maine. This is his second year as Director of the Rohatyn Student Advisory Board, and has previously been involved at the Center as a Rohatyn Global Scholar, and an RGS intern. He is particularly interested in public health policy, climate change, and exploring what our obligations to each other are in this world. Elsewhere on campus, Chris is a SGA Director of Academic Affairs, an organic chemistry tutor, and serves on the Biology Student Advisory Council. He enjoys sea kayaking, racquet sports, and reading.
Julia Montgomery is a junior feb from Massachusetts studying international human migration. This year, she acts as one of the RCGA media and outreach interns. She is interested particularly in diaspora communities, migration as a political issue, workers’ rights, environmental justice and housing affordability. Her experience as a Rohatyn Global Scholar last year amplified her appreciation for multidisciplinary perspectives and her excitement to study abroad in Latin America next fall. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, running, petting her dog, and goofing off with her friends.
Vyas Nageswaran (he/him) is a third-year student from Singapore, majoring in Economics and double minoring in Political Science and South Asian Studies. The only RGS mentor to not have been a part of the RGS program before, he looks forward to embracing the challenges and opportunities that serving as a mentor will bring. He hopes to pursue a career related to public policy/development economics after graduation, having regularly attended RCGA events related to his scholarly interests since his first semester. In his free time, he enjoys reading PG Wodehouse with a cup of coffee, playing basketball, or blogging about philosophy and well-being.
Srivats is a senior Feb from Monterey, California and Chennai, India, double majoring in History and Political Science at Middlebury College. Srivats has previously enjoyed working for the RCGA in the Fall of 2023, and before that was a member of the second RGS cohort (2022-23). Through his involvement with the Rohatyn Center and his past semester abroad studying European politics in Sweden, Srivats has enjoyed exploring his passion for diplomacy and compromise when creating solutions that work globally. Similar to his work as an RCGA intern focusing on social media outreach and design, Srivats also works as a marketing intern for a collaborative foundation called Indiaspora. At Middlebury, he also serves on the SGA Finance Committee South Asian Students Association Board, and is a part of Civics in Action and Middlebury Mock Trial. In his free time, Srivats enjoys traveling, watching good movies and taking his dogs on nice long walks.
Mehr’s experiences growing up in India and Hong Kong before moving to Arlington, Virginia,
significantly shapes her interest in International Politics & Economics. Now a junior, she is
actively exploring ways to make a meaningful impact in the international policy sphere
through her passion for research, writing, and learning new languages. Over the past year,
Mehr has worked on social media outreach for the Rohatyn Center and served as a
research intern at the James Martin Center for Nuclear Nonproliferation Studies (D.C.) She
also attended the immersive French summer school. This fall, she spends her free time
making her way through the New York Times recent ‘100 best books of the 21st century’ list,
catching up with friends, and preparing for the upcoming semester in Paris.
Katysha is a senior from Westport, Connecticut whose affiliation with the RGS community has seen her transition from a member of the inaugural cohort (2021-22) to spending two years as a mentor. Although she majors in International and Global Studies with a concentration in Russia and East Europe, studying in Kazakhstan has shifted her focus to Central Asia. She spent two semesters in Kazakhstan’s capital city, Astana, and she loved exploring other cities in the ‘stans. When it was too cold to travel (up to negative 40 degrees fahrenheit in the winter!), she stayed indoors and pursued her research interests in the relationship between religion and national identity during the early period of the Soviet Union. She continues to explore these themes in her senior thesis, which she works on between attending spin classes and enjoying the TAM.
Hazel is a sophomore from Bloomington, Indiana. She is currently interested in pursuing a major in History with a minor in Spanish. As a member of the third RGS cohort, Hazel has become curious about global patterns of migration, especially in contexts of international refugee crises. She hopes to pursue these interests during her study abroad through the Human Rights Track program in Santiago, Chile. When Hazel treats herself to homework breaks, you can find her in some amazingly crazy outfits throwing a frisbee around, recreating the entirety of Pitch Perfect, or eating some (at times) great food at the dining halls. She is fluent in French and is an intermediate Spanish speaker.