Brandon Cota is currently concluding his studies in Spanish and Portuguese Literatures at UC Berkeley, with a minor concentration in Applied Language Studies. In addition to his time at Cal, he was a Max Kade Fellowship Award recipient to study at the Free University of Berlin as well as a rotational summer program in the Azores, Lisbon and Porto, Portugal. In collaboration with the language department at Cal, he conducted his senior thesis research in Brazil at the Pontifical Catholic University of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro where he wrote critically about the predominant role of English as an international “lingua franca” in Rio and its impact on the Portuguese language and Brazilian culture. He has worked extensively in the applied language field serving as a translator for the Alameda Country Child and Family Services, and private English tutor with Educari, an organization pairing English instructors with under resourced communities in Rio de Janeiro. Brandon plans to use his time at the UNIC to become acquainted with Washington international policy community and pursue graduate studies in international studies.

Prisha Gaddam is pursuing a double major in Economics and Political Science at the University of Texas at Dallas. She studied Spanish, history and Argentine identity in Buenos Aires, Argentina and has pursued coursework in international relations and development at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She has also collaborated on development research at the Center for Behavioral and Experimental Economic Science and has interned at the Office of Economic Development at the City of Dallas. Prisha spent the last semester in New Delhi, India interning at the political office of the Indian Member of Parliament, Mr. Naveen Jindal. During her semester at the UNIC, Prisha will be a member of the Bill Archer Fellowship Program, through which students from the University of Texas System pursue fulltime internships while also taking classes. Prisha enjoys travelling, learning about foreign cultures and plans to pursue a career in international relations.

Arno Gasteiger is currently pursuing a M.S. in Foreign Service (MSFS) at Georgetown University, concentrating in International Relations and Security. Prior to studying in Washington D.C. Arno worked as marketing director for an Austrian furniture company that established its first northern European branch in Malmö, Sweden. Arno is a graduate from the Vienna University of Economics and Business, majoring in Strategic Management and Management Control and International Trade. During his studies he spent an exchange semester at the University of Michigan and interned with the Austrian Trade Commission in Hong Kong, China and Volvo in Gothenburg, Sweden. Arno also worked as a high school credit teacher and camp counselor at Concordia Language Villages' German camp in Minnesota with the mission of preparing young people for responsible citizenship in our global community. Arno enjoys alpine and cross country skiing, running and traveling and plans on working for an international organization after graduation in 2014.

Emily Nasir is an Honors senior at The University of Texas at San Antonio where she is majoring in Political Science with a minor in Legal Studies. During her time at UT San Antonio, Emily was involved in various organizations dedicated to service, leadership, and international relations including the university newspaper and the Ambassadors of UTSA. As Public Relations Officer of the Health Ambassadors and Vice President of Students for Justice in Palestine she has improved her community by providing free medical screenings as well as advocating human rights in the Middle East. While interning at the UNIC, she will be a part of the Bill Archer Fellowship Program, a program that to brings University of Texas students to Washington, D.C. Emily hopes to pursue a master’s degree in international law and diplomacy after graduating in May.

Brittney Vevaina is a senior at The University of California at Berkeley pursuing a B.A. in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations. In fall 2012, Brittney interned for Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute a human rights think-tank. At MCLI, she researched and drafted the reproductive rights subsection on the report on U.S. compliance with the ICCPR, which was submitted to the UN Human Rights Committee. While at UC Berkeley, Brittney has also worked for the Student Learning Center as a tutor. This past summer, she studied abroad in Costa Rica at the UN-mandated University for Peace, studying global security issues and conducting fieldwork with a local women’s recycling cooperative. She was most recently awarded a UC in Washington D.C. Fellowship with The Goldman School of Public Policy’s Center on Civility and Democratic Engagement at Berkeley. After graduating, Brittney plans to attend graduate school or law school, and pursue a career in international development or public policy.