My name is Arabella Christiansen and I am a graduate student at Yonsei University majoring in International Cooperation with a concentration in International Security and Foreign Policy. As an international student, the opportunity to work at EAI and learn about the inner workings of a Korean think tank was very rewarding. I consider the experience incredibly illuminating and am grateful to have been able to participate.

During my internship program, I was able to hone new skills and further develop existing ones. Under the mentorship of Ms. Jinkyung Baek, I created various publication programs and special report covers for the Asia Democracy Research Network. More broadly for EAI I created social media content, edited EAI publications, transcribed interviews, drafted press releases, and even had the opportunity to draft welcoming remarks for an international Roundtable summit.

This internship also allowed me to attend multiple conferences hosted and attended by the top minds in international relations, where I was able to see how policy is developed, influenced, and discussed.

This experience is one that I am sure will prove invaluable to my professional development. I was able to learn a lot more about my particular field of study and the inner workings of a think tank. I took so much away from this program and am grateful for the mentorship provided by all of the EAI secretariat and Ms. Jinkyung Baek, as well as the friendships I made with my fellow interns!