Student Profile:
Stephanie McFadden, BA ’06, MA ‘08

As a nomad traveling traveling all over the world for 17 years, Stephanie McFadden decided to return to the School of

Stephanie McFadden, BA '06, MA '08

International Service to pursue a master’s degree with a regional concentration in the Middle East with a related field in Gender and Social Change.

McFadden, a David L. Boren Fellow, will spend the 2007 Spring semester in Jerusalem where she will research female-managed and -focused Palestinian NGOs. Her study will examine the impact that gender-focused economic, political and social empowerment programs have on a community.

She started to develop her interest and focus as an SIS undergraduate when she was a member of the Undergraduate Honors Program and received the Charlotte Newcombe Scholarship.  McFadden says the School of International Service helped to refine her goals and broaden her global perspective. 

“I have learned to think about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with more detached, analytical worldview, she said. “The time I have spent at AU has helped me see that there are far more opportunities beyond what I’ve known in the business world.”

One opportunity that was beneficial to her career path was working as an intern with Search for Common Ground’s Women in Nonviolence program.  The program was a collaborative effort among Search for Common Ground, Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy and the Truman Institute for Peace at Hebrew University.  Palestinian and Israeli women came together for a two week dialogue project in Washington, DC. 

“Working with the participants was a defining moment both personally and professionally,” McFadden said.  “I found their strength and their commitment to find alternatives to violence by empowering their communities inspiring.”

She hopes to inspire others when she fulfills the Boren Fellowship’s service agreement-which for her will be 18 months.  McFadden says she wants to work for the Department of State, Department of Defense, or within the Intelligence Community.

She says her broad world view and realist perspective is something she believes the U.S. government is lacking. “I think government bureaucracies need analysts who understand the critical roles social networks and civil society play in the Middle East.”

After recieving her graduate degree in 2008, McFadden says she may pursue a PhD, but she plans on spending a few years back in the professional world before making any final decisions.