News, Students

#SpringSFS 2019

March 19, 2019
Four young men pose in front of a temple at sunset.
Students in the class “Politics and Performance: Confronting the Past, Shaping the Future” stand in front of the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia.

SFS students spent spring break all around the world, studying displacement in Jordan, national security in San Francisco, migration in Sweden, and everything in between. Many of these trips were nearly fully-funded and for class credit, providing dozens of students with the opportunity to gain an immersive, global education. Below, check out some of the highlights from students’ adventures abroad, and explore the hashtag #SpringSFS for even more!
California (National Security) | California (Start-up) | Cambodia | India | Jordan | Kenya | Sweden | Ukraine

National Security and Social Media (California)

Professors: Daniel Byman and Chris Meserole
The Centennial Lab class “National Security and Social Media” traveled to San Francisco and Silicon Valley to meet with tech companies and non-profits to learn more about the problems of radical presence on the Internet and hear about potential solutions. Among the companies that the students met with were Google, Twitter, Facebook, PayPal, and the National Democratic Institute.

Thank you @YouTube and @will_mccants for the wonderful conversation. @georgetownsfs #SpringSFS pic.twitter.com/HEnxIRxoam— Ilari Papa (@PapaIlari) March 6, 2019

We had a fascinating discussion with @brianfishman of @facebook about his work on counterterrorism and dangerous orgs. Thank you for your insights! #SpringSFS pic.twitter.com/JLXjyg1ujb— Margaux (@margawks) March 5, 2019

Hosted the sharpest group of undergrads from my alma mater @georgetownsfs at PayPal! Kudos to prof. @dbyman & @chrismeserole for a great trip west. How cool is this class about hate groups (and other complex social-political issues) on the internet 🤩 pic.twitter.com/dxyvHBGDS0— Calanthia Mei (@calanthiamei) March 8, 2019

⁦@georgetownsfs⁩ students enjoy San Fran sites while on tech tour #SFSspring pic.twitter.com/ROwxt09SDw— Dan Byman (@dbyman) March 8, 2019

When you visit @Twitter you have to put it on Twitter, right? Thanks to @Georgetown alum Jennifer McDonald and the rest of the @TwitterSF team for such a great discussion! #SpringSFS pic.twitter.com/8rbqHhkZZs— Margaux (@margawks) March 8, 2019

Start-Up Studio (California)

Professor: Dale Murphy
The “Start-Up Studio” Centennial Lab class helps train and enable top students to create ambitious, entrepreneurial solutions to global challenges. Students in the class work individually or in small teams to identify societal needs and innovative, financially sustainable solutions and receive collaboration and assistance from Citi Ventures and its network. Over spring break, the class traveled to Silicon Valley to meet with entrepreneurs, investors, and alumni working in their areas of interest, to further field-test, pivot, and network.

Great morning yesterday with aspiring entrepreneurs from ⁦@georgetownsfs⁩. Jeremy Almond of ⁦@paystand⁩ did an amazing job describing the #startup experience and “crossing the chasm.” Delighted to meet a couple of Corp alums in the group! pic.twitter.com/SxGm2CKPv5
— Bud Colligan (@collbud) March 5, 2019

Very cool tour of @ComputerHistory in Mountain View, California yesterday with #CLabStartupStudio. Who knows what the future seventy years will hold for computing? #SpringSFS @georgetownsfs pic.twitter.com/7hWe6UU6kk— Ben Weinberg (@BenJWeinberg) March 4, 2019

Group of people posed in front of a large set of screens.
“The Start-up Studio class met with CitiVentures. After receiving a brief introduction into CV’s mission and activities, we presented our pitches and ideas to the four CV members who gave us feedback and advice. And of course, the view from the office was gorgeous!” – Ridwan Meah (SFS’20)
Group of people pose for a photo.
HighRidge Venture Partners founder and managing partner Patrick McKenna (MBA ‘98) met with the class to give his insights into Silicon Valley culture, entrepreneurship, and innovation. He also discussed his background serving in the U.S. Army as a technology office to working in M&A at both Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan.

Politics and Performance: Confronting the Past, Shaping the Future (Cambodia)

Professors: Derek Goldman and Amb. Cynthia Schneider
SFS Centennial Lab “Politics and Performance: Confronting the Past, Shaping the Future” traveled to Cambodia as guests of Cambodian Living Arts (CLA), visiting key sites of memory of the Cambodian genocide, meeting artists, and learning about the CLA’s work in both traditional and contemporary performing arts.

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India Innovation Studio (India)

Professors: Irfan Nooruddin and Mark Giordano
Each year, this Centennial Lab studio-based course examines a different problem facing India. This year’s class was about irrigation. The course is taught through a multidisciplinary lens and operates in partnership with Indian government and civil society stakeholders to design, prototype and implement a solution on the ground.

Group of college students pose in front of a bridge at midday.

People sitting around a board room table.

Group of people posing for a photo.

Development and Displacement in the Arab World (Jordan)

Professors: Rochelle Davis and Fida Adely
SFS Centennial Lab “Development and Displacement in the Arab World” focuses on different types of development as solutions to displacements in the Arab world. The class traveled to Jordan over spring break to learn about community-based development projects and the impact of displacement on communities.

Thank you @georgetownsfs and @Georgetown for creating opportunities such as Centennial Labs. We’ve worked our way through Jordan, meeting with incredible organizations & community leaders while taking in Jordan’s beauty. And of course, endless thanks to our Profs Davis and Adely! pic.twitter.com/YgI2MiA8iG
— Elizabeth Nalunga (@Elizabeth__N) March 9, 2019

Meeting with a local NGO called Irada that aims to provide Jordanians with funds and skills necessary to start their own start-ups, be self-reliant, and sustainable. They have 28 offices across Jordan and they supported more that 700 SMEs in the past year #Springsfs pic.twitter.com/DFK8DcqS2N— Samar Saeed (@Samarsaeed) March 5, 2019

Spent the day in Gaza camp with @OneLoveGazaCamp local org (funded by community) serves palestinian refugees expelled by Israel twice in 1948 & 1967. They replace home roofs made of zinc& asbestos-cancerous material;built a community center;provide vocational training #springsfs pic.twitter.com/jHxcyx1orn— Samar Saeed (@Samarsaeed) March 6, 2019

Local entrepreneurs made us dinner in a rooftop overlooking downtown Amman. Amazing food. Amazing views. #springsfs pic.twitter.com/2qOOmIQyTH— Rochelle Davis (@RochelleADavis) March 4, 2019

#HoyasinKenya

The African Studies Program took 10 undergraduate students to Kenya to better understand Kenya’s dynamic development. This year’s trip included site visits with a host of firms including Kenya’s largest bank, as well as public health institutions, Parliament, and other organizations.

Large group of people posing outside.

People sitting around a board room table.
Students waiting for their speaker, CEO of Equity Bank, James Mwangi.
A giraffe eating from a person's hand while others take photos.
No better way to be introduced to Nairobi than by feeding giraffes!

Refugees and Migrant Children (Sweden)

Professors: Elizabeth Ferris and Katharine Donato
The Centennial Lab class “Refugees and Migrant Children” examines the ways in which governments and civil society facilitate the admission and social integration of refugee and migrant children and families with a particular focus on the United States and Sweden. Over spring break, they traveled to Sweden to engage with government and civil society representatives to analyze the ways in which refugee and migrant children’s needs are addressed in a country known for its highly effective and child-sensitive policies.

Students learn about assisted voluntary return and exploitation, from IOM @UNmigration expert Eveliina Karhu, related to both refugees and trafficked persons #springsfs w/ @GUMigration pic.twitter.com/6tlLSh9fQ3— Ryan Gillis (@_RMGillis) March 6, 2019

Today @georgetownsfs students tour the Skärholmen neighborhood – part of Sweden’s Million Homes Programme – to consider social resilience and the impact of urban development on minority and migrant communities #springsfs pic.twitter.com/ZGDV2lOOwh— Ryan Gillis (@_RMGillis) March 6, 2019

Anna Lund, Professor of Sociology says: “Sweden is a unique country; we are strong individualists because of the strong social welfare system – so we can think about ourselves” #springsfs @georgetownsfs pic.twitter.com/q3yFqmdUYC— Ryan Gillis (@_RMGillis) March 4, 2019

SFS students are back in the classroom today @Stockholm_Uni School of Social Work learning the Swedish migration process from academic experts #springsfs #childmigration w/ @GUMigration pic.twitter.com/oYfL1XDv5K— Ryan Gillis (@_RMGillis) March 4, 2019

Thanks to @UNHCR_NE for hosting @georgetownsfs students for a discussion on the Nordic approach to child migration and the Swedish asylum system #springsfs pic.twitter.com/RdxbMiwhAk— Ryan Gillis (@_RMGillis) March 5, 2019

Holocaust Forensics (Ukraine)

Professors: Fr. Dennis McManus, Jessica Roda and Fr. Patrick Desbois
In conjunction with the Center for Jewish Civilization and Yahad in Unum, a group of Georgetown students spent spring break in Odessa, Ukraine. They engaged in 60 hours of forensic fieldwork with Father Patrick Desbois as he researches the killing sites of the Holocaust in Eastern Europe.

Group of people walk on former train tracks.
Students walk old train tracks in Rawa-Ruska, Ukraine with a witness who identified mass grave sites of Jewish victims alongside the tracks.
A phone showing graffiti on a memorial in the foreground while the cleaned memorial is in the background.
Memorial for the 16,000 Jews murdered in Berezhany during the Holocaust. The memorial was vandalized with Nazi signs of a swastika and SS symbol in 2018.
A man holds up a photo in front of a building.
Fr. Patrick Desbois leads students to pogrom sites in downtown Lviv, analyzing the lack of memory today and comparing the physical landscape of the time and today.
A group of people with their backs turned listen to a tour guide in the woods.
Students visit Lysynychi forest, where an estimated 200,000 Jews were killed, burned, and buried in mass graves.
A group of people pose for a photo.
Students learn from a Holocaust survivor who survived because he and his mother were protected by a German journalist.