Alyson Beermann is a very self-motivated, independent first year student from Highland Park, Illinois, studying at the University of St. Andrews, in Scotland. Alyson gets so engrossed in international relations topics that during the week, she must put her copy of Foreign Policy magazine out of her line of sight, because it proves too distracting! Given her major in Modern Languages and International Relations, however, this is not discouraging. The languages Alyson has chosen to major in are Arabic and Russian. She also studied Spanish for seven years, took French throughout high school, and learned German on her own.

After completing her undergraduate degree, Alyson hopes to be accepted into the Peace Corps. Ultimately, she aspires to work for the U.S. Department of State, utilizing her knowledge of languages and international relations to advocate for U.S. interests abroad. Alyson feels that many young people fail to identify the role of the government in our everyday lives. “It’s essential that young people be involved in public service, not only to give back, but also to help shape the future of these services in the United States.”