Name: Michelle Bovee

Member since: Member since May 2014

YPFP Involvment:  Writer, Marketing and Communications Department

Current Job: Director, International at the FP Group (publisher of Foreign Policy magazine)

Education: Major – Political Science, Minor – Economics, James Madison University, 2008-2012

Graduate: MSc International Relations, The London School of Economics, 2012-2013

What did you want to do before you went to college?

I had no idea what I wanted to do before college, and didn’t really start to have an idea of what field I even wanted to be in until my Junior year.
How did your career choice evolve throughout your education?

I had no clue what I wanted to do when I started undergrad, so I took advantage of JMU’s GenEd system and took a bunch of 100/200-level classes in a variety of subjects. Slowly I realized that I really liked political science and international relations, and later I found out that I was interested in economics, as well.

What area of the international arena interests you the most?

Currently, cybersecurity, political risk, and international economics.
Where do you see yourself a decade from now?

Ideally, working internationally.
If you weren’t in the foreign affairs world, what would be your alternative, pie-in-the-sky dream job?

This may seem out of the blue, but I’d love to be a Art curator.
If you could meet a deceased famous historical figure who would it be and why?

Julia Child. Spy, chef, and writer — what could be better?
What do you know now that you wish you could tell your undergraduate self?

Don’t stress so much about grades!

What should college students be doing while they are in college to ensure they get a job after graduation?

Attending events and meeting people–those connections will be invaluable when you’re trying to get a job, so take advantage of all the opportunities universities offer to attend lectures, seminars, and other events.

What are you interests outside work/YPFP?

Photography, cooking, traveling, and playing with my cats.