Working at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, at the Palais des Nations, I was exposed to the ultimate international hub. Here, I saw the Human Right Convention's highly ranked, professionals in their field, speakers giving reports on the world's current human rights crises, the ITU's AI for Good Global Summit, where tech royalty and experts discussed how artificial intelligence could be used to make humanitarian aid more effective, and lastly, I was exposed to the sad reality of international relations, which is that sometimes, leaders will not agree, with the recent Plastic Conference's lack of forming a resolution. All of the different issues I learned in class with international relations, with nations and territories fighting the struggle for development, and global crises were affecting my day to day work and being discussed in my meetings. Even the UN budget cuts were playing out in front of me, where I saw colleagues raising important questions about job insecurity at UNCTAD's quarterly town hall meeting. This was an incredible experience to see the coursework unfold in practice and real life.
Working at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, I saw everything I had learned unfold in real time: human rights crises, development struggles, and global negotiations happened right in front of me and directly shaped my day-to-day work. From events like the AI for Good Global Summit to watching negotiations stall at the Plastic Conference, my coursework suddenly felt lived rather than theoretical. Even issues like UN budget cuts and job insecurity showed me how international relations play out in practice, not just in class.