Student Leaders and Members

Konrad Gessler is a senior from North Salem, NY majoring in International Relations: Security Studies. As a member of the 2011-2012 EPIIC Colloquium "Conflict in the 21st Century", Konrad traveled to Muscat, Oman to research Omani-Iranian bilateral relations during the tensions in the Straits of Hormuz. Konrad co-directed FIELDEX, a real-time simulation of a conflict scenario with participants from civilian universities and military academies. He also organized a career panel for ALLIES with panelists representing careers in the public and private sectors. Konrad is looking forward to his continued involvement in the IGL's programs during his last year at Tufts.

There is a Korean proverb that says, “The frog in the well knows nothing of the great ocean.” The story continues with the small frog, “Haewa” means ‘sea frog’ in Korean, leaving the well, the only world he has known, to experience a new world. He is not satisfied with staying near the well and journeys beyond the town and country he is from. He heads towards the sea, his ultimate goal, passing over mountains and through rivers. His is a life of insatiable challenges in a new world outside the well; and that has been Youngchan’s life for the past 27 years.

Youngchan Kim is a graduate student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He is from South Korea and finished his bachelor’s degree at Kyung Hee University majoring in Political Science and International Relations with special focus on China and North Korea. With his academic interests in China, he attended a number of academic activities in China and Taiwan including one year of exchange study at National Cheng Chi University (NCCU) in Taipei. He also served the Korean Army for two years as a soldier of the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA). Before he came to the Fletcher, he also worked at Center for Medicine and Korean Reunification, Seoul National University. As a researcher, he participated in a number of different projects including publishing a white paper for North Korea Public Health as well as in developing a Public health contingency plan for North Korea’s emergent situation with special focuses on mass influx of refugees. At the Fletcher School, he is concentrating on International Conflict Resolution and Development Economics, while he is actively engaging in many school activities as a member of China Studies Society and North Korea Working Group of the Fletcher School. Youngchan is a big lover of backpack travel and he has been traveled in 78 cities in 18 countries across Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America so far.

His panel “US Pivot Change and Asia’s Response” will cover the Obama administration’s foreign policy toward Pacific Asia and what has been done in the past based on the policy and the reactions of the countries in the Asia-Pacific area, especially in East Asia; China, Korea, and Japan. Furthermore, the panel will examine the future of the US Pivot Change and its impacts on the political spectrum in Pacific Asia. 

Katie Murphy is a senior at Tufts majoring in Quantitative Economics - technically. Really she's just here to try to educate herself holistically and doesn't like being confined to one major. Aside from curious educational pursuits, Katie also loves rock climbing and good food. She once survived 4 days alone in Ho Chi Minh City's red light district with only $5. She is also interested in startups and data analytics.

Lizzy Robinson is a junior from Albany, New York, double majoring in International Relations and Economics. On campus, she is involved in NIMEP (New Initiative for Middle East Peace) and EPIIC, and works as a research assistant in the Political Science department. Lizzy is primarily interested in foreign policy, security issues, and diplomacy, and hopes to join the Foreign Service. Outside of academics, Lizzy enjoys running and raspberries. 

Ben Yunmo Wang is a senior from Toronto, Canada majoring in International Relations and Political Science. An aspiring young professional, he has worked as a research intern for organizations including the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and the Stimson Center. Currently, he is writing a senior honors thesis examining the relationship between China's peacekeeper contributions and economic interests in Africa. Ben is a fan of Tottenham Hotspur, and he looks forward to traveling the world, particularly Africa, after graduation.

The panel "China and the US in Africa" will examine the political, economic, and cultural dimensions of China's growing presence in Africa, and attempt to triangulate evolving national interests in the Africa-China-US relationship.