Student Highlight: Erin Moore
ERIN MOORE
Hometown: Simi Valley, CA
Languages: English, Arabic
Semester: 4th
Favorite Course: Managerial Negotiations with Dr. Kristina Diekmann
In 2013, Erin Moore's previously exciting life had come to a standstill. "I had just returned from volunteering in India for nine months. It was my first time living in a foreign country, and everything else I did felt small by comparison. All my job prospects were disappointing, and I knew I was capable of so much more. One day I googled 'international affairs masters,' and the rest is history!"
Erin began the MIAGE program in 2014 with plans to become a Foreign Service Officer. "That's still a long-term goal of mine, but MIAGE opened my eyes to so many other international possibilities." Erin has focused her MIAGE degree on international economics and business, while also learning Arabic. During her program, she participated in the law school's Counter-terrorism Simulation, she interned with an export consulting firm, and she won the business school's Games4Health competition by designing a video game and business plan to solve a health problem.
"It's incredible how many cool opportunities MIAGE can connect you to. We're really lucky to get to take all these different classes. I know my ability to integrate knowledge from so many different disciplines makes me competitive and unique."
Erin earned her BS and MS in sociology at Brigham Young University in 2011. She discovered her passion for international affairs while serving as the Volunteer Director for Rising Star Outreach of India, where she managed hundreds of foreign volunteers providing services for leprosy-affected families in Southern India. After graduating this semester, Erin plans to continue to build a career in export consulting.
Erin's advice to current and incoming students: "MIAGE opens so many doors for you, but it's up to you to walk through them. A lot of times you'll feel like a fish out of water. You'll be the only non-law student in a law class, for example, and you'll think, 'What the heck did I get myself into?' Those moments are major decision points. You can either hide in the back of the class, do just enough work to get by, and run away when it's over, or you can sink your teeth into it and make the most of the experience. Get to know your classmates. Meet with your professor. Attend lectures related to that topic. Prove to that class and to yourself that you belong there. Because you do. You wouldn't be in the program if you didn't."