Senior Despina Anastasiou is concentrating in international relations with a double minor in history and Middle East and Islamic Studies, and proves you can truly do it all while wearing a smile the entire time. As a peer speaking consultant at the Writing and Speaking Center, social planner and dancer for the Colgate Dance Team and protection intern for the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) as an attendee of the competitive Geneva Study Group program — just to name a few achievements — Anastasiou is a testament that Colgate University has just the perfect, adaptable experience for all.
Anastasiou discussed initially feeling general unease about attending Colgate University, particularly as someone who is ardent about traveling.
“I was nervous to commit because I thought of Colgate being in the middle of nowhere and I imagined it would be extremely hard to study international relations because we aren’t in a city where there are embassies and similar locations” she shared.
Anastasiou did not let this stop her, and the plethora of study abroad opportunities that Colgate has to offer solidified her choice. She was able to travel to places such as France, Lithuania and Switzerland with Colgate, with each experience developing her global perspective of various cultures.
As a member of the Geneva study group, she earned an internship with the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) where she was a Protection Intern within the Resettlement and Complementary Pathways Service (RCPS) of the Division of International Protection (DIP). The experience was valuable because Anastasiou was granted the chance to find work she genuinely enjoyed.
“It was the first time I went into an office and genuinely enjoyed it. I realized I have the skills and abilities necessary to carry out my job to its full potential,” she added.
While abroad, Anastasiou was admitted to Colgate and the Geneva Graduate Institute’s joint AB/MA program. After graduation, Anatasiou will be returning to Geneva, Switzerland, to finish her graduate degree at the Graduate Institute.
Anastasiou’s trip to Lithuania had similar rewarding effects, as she had the opportunity to conduct research with Associate Professor of Political Science and Department Chair Valerie Morkevičius. Her project included researching Lithuanian foreign policy in the 1990s.
“The opportunity to go to Lithuania was amazing because I got to interview all these Lithuanian diplomats, government officials and foreign diplomats within the embassy while also having days where we were touring Lithuania from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and reflecting on our trip, keeping us aware of what we were experiencing,” she explained.
It was these moments of travel with Colgate that changed Anastasiou the most.
“Being able to go abroad four times helped me decide on my vocation,” she explained.
Back on campus, Anastasiou has also been shaped by all of her positive experiences with her extracurricular activities and her relationships with her professors.
During her first year, she unexpectedly discovered her favorite class: Introduction to the Modern Middle East with Associate Professor of History and Director of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Noor-Aiman Khan.
“It was my first day of class ever and I was randomly placed in the class, but absolutely fell in love with the topic and the Middle East. Everyday I would come into class and sit smack center in the front excited to learn more” Anastasiou said.
Anastasiou decided to honor this experience by awarding Khan her Torch Medal, as a part of a tradition where seniors honor a member of Colgate’s faculty or staff that has had a meaningful impact during their time at Colgate.
“Professor Khan helped me figure out what I was interested in and what I’m hoping to dedicate my life to, as my specialization in grad school is migration, mobilities and borders. Professor Khan taught me the importance of being educated on the world around you and that you cannot enter a field without possessing the knowledge to fully represent that field,” she explained.
This openness to understanding the true history of different regions has also impacted Anastasiou’s senior theses.
In her international relations seminar, she focused on the Greek media’s portrayal of Syrian and Ukranian refugees, and how one tends to elicit negative responses and the other positive, respectively.
“I took 61 Greek articles, buying subscriptions to magazines to do a coded keyword analysis” she explained.
In her history seminar, she analyzed Greece-Turkey relations and how there is a rise in tourism between the two countries despite the tense relations between the two.
“Through my research I have found that there still remains a generational divide between older and younger generations, where there remain historical memories, but on the other hand, you have younger generations who tend to be more open,” she said.
Past all her hard-work academically, socially, the Colgate campus and communities she is a part of have also given her the opportunity to grow, especially with other people.
As a member of the Colgate Dance Team, she is grateful towards the family she has gained.
“You come in as a freshman, with everyone being from various aspects of life, different friend groups and we’re brought together by our shared passion of dance. I gained a community while also getting to stay close to what I love to do. Especially after my dance studio closed and becoming an instructor for teaching kids with disabilities how to dance, I realized I wanted to continue dancing as well and I found a home with the Colgate Dance Team,” she expressed.
Anastasiou also found personal growth through her time working at the Writing and Speaking Center as a Speaking Consultant, finding comfort in being able to help others grow.
“Working at the Speaking Center, you realize, ‘Wow, you truly have the skills to help someone out,’ and after finishing with a client, just that simple ‘Thank you so much’ goes so far because someone is directly telling you that you helped them out,” Anastasiou said.
Supporting others in their journeys as a consultant also gave Anastasiou a moment of self-growth and vulnerability.
“My biggest fear is a fear of failure and not being able to successfully fulfill my roles. My position at the Speaking Center solidified my confidence in myself” she added.
There are many pieces of advice that Anastasiou hopes remain with her as she heads into the future.
“The best piece of advice I’ve received came from previous U.N. Ambassador to Cyprus Kathleen Doherty, who [Professor of Economics Chad Sparber] inspired me to connect with. We are in a moment where IR is a fragile field because of current tensions in America. She said, ‘You do not have to worry if you feel like the world is coming apart because there is a role for everyone in this world, and despite programs being dismantled, we need people who will rebuild,’” Anastasiou said.
Anastasiou’s experience at Colgate these past four years provides hope for the future and proves that the Colgate spirit is alive: she is a part of the innovative and ambitious student body who wants to change the game for future generations.
