TIE Affiliation

Travel Grant Recipient

Experience

Vanessa is a Master's student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy studying International Trade and International Resource Management. She expects to complete her studies in December 2020. Before coming to Tufts, Vanessa earned her B.S. from Massachusetts Maritime Academy, and her M.S. from State University of New York Maritime College. Before Fletcher, Vanessa worked for a Canadian shipping company where she was stationed in Shanghai, China where she was part of the site team during the newbuilding of dry bulk containers. Vanessa also worked for a cruise ship company where she led various ship retrofitting and clean energy projects as a technical project manager. She worked on reducing the amount of shipboard emissions as well as other energy conservation projects. In addition to her own studies, Vanessa is involved with the Fletcher Maritime Affairs Club at Tufts.

Current Studies and Future Goals

When asked what she found most meaningful about her field of study, Vanessa responded with the following: "I enjoy learning about how international organizations work and interact with academia, national governments, industry and NGOs. I find it meaningful to learn how important it is to have a multidisciplinary viewpoint to approach challenges and find solutions. International Trade and Commercial Policies provided classes which explained different concepts and tool kits within economics, law, policy and negotiation which could be applied to technical classes relating to resources and energy".

Vanessa hopes to utilize her knowledge of maritime business, maritime law, and international affairs to become a leader in the maritime industry, helping to create and shape global policies once she finishes her studies at Tufts.

Fun Facts!

When not doing schoolwork, Vanessa enjoys traveling and learning about new cultures. She is currently working on starting a maritime youth-centered non-profit. She also created a maritime boutique consulting firm called Sea Strategy with the help of many professors and entrepreneur coaches.

Favorite Place You've Visited: Indonesia

Favorite Course(s) Taken at Tufts: International Energy Policy