Summer 2006 Interns

Ursula Götz is from Dortmund, Germany, where she studies Journalism with a minor in Politics and Sports. She will graduate with an equivalent to a Master';s Degree in Summer 2007. She successfully applied for and won a scholarship to study this past year in the International Security and Conflict Resolution Program (ISCOR) of San Diego State University. To acknowledge her outstanding performance Ursula received a certificate equivalent to a Bachelor of Arts degree in ISCOR at the official graduation ceremony in May 2006. Ursula has worked for a German television station and interned with a newspaper in Cape Town, South Africa. In her teens, Ursula excelled in competitive track and field. She was German champion and an 11-time state champion. Next to sports, Ursula's passion is languages. She speaks English and French and is learning Spanish and Russian. Ursula was an altar server for 10 years and involved in youth projects for the Roman Catholic Church in her home town.

Maya Lau graduated with honors from Vassar College in Spring 2007 with a B.A. in International Studies, focusing on Africa through History and Political Science. While at Vassar, Maya spent her junior year studying in Rabat, Morocco and Cape Town, South Africa, where she learned to speak French, Arabic and Xhosa. Her achievements include conducting independent research on an emerging South African dance form while studying in Cape Town. This culminated in her senior thesis titled, "Dance Theory and Political Reality: Contemporary South African Dance as a Social Force," a project for which she received distinction. Maya now resides in Brooklyn, NY and is a legal assistant for the Manhattan law firm of Vladeck, Waldman, Elias and Engelhard, an organization that centers on employment and anti-discrimination law. Maya continues to dance in New York City and is devoted to public interest and human rights law. She plans on attending law school in the near future. Maya is from San Diego, CA.

Catherine Quizon received her MA this past May in International Relations from USD, where she worked as a graduate fellow. She also contributed to a volume on student and faculty essays on the war on terror. In 2002, she interned with Living Rivers, an environmental advocacy group, and spent the summer traveling down the Colorado River campaigning for better protection of river ecosystems. Her academic interests are international law and African politics.

Lydia Strunk received her B.A. from USD in May 2006, with a major in Political Science and minors in Gender Studies and Sociology. She was Vice President of USD's Amnesty International chapter and an active volunteer at various sites across San Diego including the South Sudanese Refugee Center and St. Vincent de Paul’s Homeless Village.  Lydia spent a semester in Washington, D.C. interning on Capitol Hill, as well as a summer semester in Guadalajara, Mexico. She has a particular interest in the influence of gender in policymaking and promoting social justice.