Intern Spotlight: Arianna Bartlett

This is the third of three spotlights on our spring semester 2016 student interns.  Learning Life’s interns this spring are focused mostly on building our new Citizen Diplomacy Initiative, which will connect American families in Washington D.C. with families in other parts of the world through live online video-dialogue.  Arianna and our other interns are conducting research and making contacts locally and abroad to grow the Initiative.  We are thankful for their work.  

Where were you born and raised?

I am from Tucson, Arizona.

What school do you attend, and what is your year and major there?

I am a sophomore in the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University.  I am majoring in Latin American & Hemispheric Studies and Spanish with a minor in Women’s Studies.

Arianna BartlettWhat do you like to do in your free time?

In my free time, my friends and I like to make breakfast food at all times of the day. In addition, I play lots of sand volleyball when the weather is nice out.

What is the most beautiful place you have seen on Earth, and why is it so beautiful?

About 4 years ago, I spent a couple weeks in British Columbia for a family vacation. During that time, we stayed in a cabin in the Banff National Park where I saw the most beautiful lakes and mountains. They were so pristine and untouched that they just seemed like another world compared to here.

Is there a particular life experience you have had that has shaped you as a person?  If so, what was it, and how has it shaped who you are?

The summer before my senior year of high school, I went to a Global Youth Leadership Conference in Berlin, Vienna, and Prague. This shaped my experience because I started learning about other cultures and how to interact with different types of people.  I made a couple good friends from Israel and Lebanon, which were both nations that I had little to no practical knowledge about.  It helped me to realize that I want to work internationally and spend time traveling and learning.

Why did you choose to intern with Learning Life?

I thought Learning Life presented a great opportunity to work with a blossoming initiative (the Citizen Diplomacy Initiative) with potential to help so many people.  I wanted to be able to spend my time helping people learn and improve their life situations, especially in developing countries. 

What are your career plans?

I want to work with NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) in Latin America that are focused on human rights, specifically women’s rights, so that I can help improve their situations.

Five Ways World Affairs Affect Us All

Thanks to Learning Life intern, Ian Ball, for helping to research and write these five facts.  
 
PSY's Gangnam StyleEntertainment: Internet access and sharing technology has enabled people to experience culture and art from around the world. Korean music artist PSY became a global sensation when his song “Gangnam Style” went “viral” on Youtube.  One version of the Youtube video has received over 2.5 billion views worldwide.
 
Travel: International terrorism has had a significant impact on travel.  Airport security measures have slowed the pace of processing in airports across the world, and it has became more difficult for students, workers and tourists to obtain travel visas.
 
Pollution: The environmental policies of one country can affect air quality in other countries near and far. Pollution over a Chinese city For instance, almost one third of the air pollution in the American city of San Francisco comes from Chinese coal-fired power plants across the Pacific Ocean.  (Still, per capita, the USA is and has long been the world’s biggest polluter.)
 
Prices: International affairs affect the prices of things we buy and use everyday. For example, when oil-producing countries like the USA, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China and Canada increase oil production, the price we pay for gasoline tends to fall.  Conversely, when oil demand rises, or when terrorism or war disrupts oil production, gasoline prices tend to rise.
 
Jobs: The movement of companies across national borders affects the availability of jobs in nations throughout the world.  For example, big American companies like Walmart, Ford and Apple have “outsourced” or moved jobs to China, Mexico and other nations where wages are lower in order to increase company profits.  This benefits the country that gets the jobs, and hurts the country that loses the jobs.

AMERICANS’ SPENDING & SAVINGS

Why should one know about Americans’ savings and spending? How much, and on what Americans spend and save affects the whole world because Americans are among the most prolific consumers in the world. Americans’ spending and savings thus affects the availability and price of goods and services, the supply of capital (savings) for investment, and the productivity of economies worldwide, among other conditions. On a personal and household level, Americans’ spending and savings shapes their present and future economic security and well-being. Knowing more about larger saving and spending patterns can offer people better perspective on their own habits.

1. What percent of the total income (gross income, before taxes) of Americans 65 and older comes from Social Security?
2. What percent of income do the richest 20% and the poorest 20% (in income) of Americans spend on food, respectively?
3. Americans spend the most on which of the following goods?
4. What is the average credit card debt per U.S. household?
5. What percentage of American workers in private industry with access to a defined contribution plan for retirement (such as a 401k) do not participate?

 

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