The Undergraduate Diplomacy Student Association (UDSA) is a student organization open to those majoring or minoring in International Relations and Diplomacy.
Parker LaCourse, a junior diplomacy major and the president of the organization, said that UDSA focuses on networking opportunities and fostering professional development for its membership.
“In addition to our focus, Dean Bartoli created this club a handful of years ago with the intent of UDSA gauging the ‘culture’ within the diplomacy school, and that’s something we are really hoping to tap in on this semester,” LaCourse said.
“The structure of the club has changed numerous times throughout the past couple of years,” LaCourse said, as the club has changed meeting times and events. “But we’re moving towards a once a month basis, while promoting other events on a regularly basis.”
Annika Springsteel, a sophomore diplomacy major, said UDSA has remained active on campus by organizing multiple events in previous semesters.
“In the past UDSA has participated and hosted many events,” Springsteel said. “Rise Against Hunger, which is a meal packing event where with the help of the student body we were able to pack more than 10,000 meals to feed people around the world.”
Springsteel said that UDSA brings students to diplomacy centered events, such as the International Peace Institute. There, Springsteel said students were able to hear from David Sanger, a New York Times national security correspondent, as he discussed his book “The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage and Fear in the Cyber Age” and took questions from the audience.
Springsteel added that the organization managed a ticket giveaway recently for “The Global Engagement Summit” at the United Nations General Assembly Hall on Feb. 22. She explained that the event serves as a gathering of young people at the UN.
At a previous involvement fair, Afra Goncuoglu, a junior diplomacy major and current vice president of finance of UDSA, explained how she first became interested in the organization.
“During the Fall 2017 Involvement Fair, I was wandering around trying to find clubs that related to my major, my interest and more likely the ones that I would enjoy being a part of,” Goncuolgu said. She said UDSA’s table grabbed her attention, as well as the enthusiasm of the former president of the organization, Chole Whitewater, in detailing what the organization’s focus and mission was.
“She seemed very passionate about the club’s future and she wanted to see new faces to help UDSA grow more,” Goncuoglu said. “I can easily tell that her excitement made me want to join UDSA in the first place.”
“UDSA helped me to have a better connection with our Diplomacy school, especially with our Deans,” Goncuoglu said. “Seeing UDSA grow and being a part of this with our executive board members who are sharing my feelings of excitement is worthy of our struggles and challenges on the path of UDSA’s success.”
Throughout UDSA’s meetings and events, LaCourse said that ultimately, diplomacy students should use the organization as an important resource for building connections.
He said, “As for the message we want to convey to other students, we want them to know that UDSA can be a resource for them to reach any of their goals as we look to expand our connections with industry contacts, alumni and the school’s faculty.”
Adam Varoqua can be reached at adam.varoqua@student.shu.edu.
