Vanessa Panaligan

Status: Student
Thesis: No thesis on file.

At the age of two, Vanessa emigrated from the Philippines and was raised in Chicago (IL) and Tampa (FL), respectively. 2007 brought the completion of a Bachelors of Arts degree in Government and World Affairs from The University of Tampa along with certificates in European Studies, French, and International Studies.

Since her undergraduate years, Vanessa traveled extensively for work and volunteer projects and even simple tourism. A passion for altruism led to a handful of short-term community development projects in the Dominican Republic, South Africa, and Morocco. Vanessa has also volunteered multiple times with the Association C.H.A.M., a French-based NGO in historic preservation restoring monuments of the medieval period throughout France.

After graduation, she gained work experience interning with the British Council, or the cultural department of the British Embassy, and the Arab American Institute (both based in DC) where her duties focused mainly on public communication and research. In 2008, Vanessa was selected to serve as a trainee in the European Commission's DG-Research in Brussels. A principal project of hers was writing and composing content for a public website that promoted and explained the current research development projects of the European Union.

Excited about this opportunity at Georgetown, Vanessa hopes to be able to further her goals of forging a career in public diplomacy and cultural affairs. From her interest in intercultural communication and education (especially in developing countries), with the CCT program, she anticipates to focus on Cultural Studies and Globalization Studies. She also aims to earn a Certificate in Arab Studies. To expand on her background in European relations, Vanessa hopes to build further comprehension on communication policies and cross-cultural education trends in the international community.