Recipients of the Certificate in Latin American & Caribbean Studies Image by Duke Yearlook v
May 22, 2015
Recipients of the Certificate in Latin
American & Caribbean Studies
Image by Duke Yearlook via Flickr
Undergraduate Certificates
Image by Duke Yearlook via Flickr
Receiving a
Bachelor’s degree in Economics
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Reed is completing a project on Brazilian exchange rate movements and inflation targeting, in order to shed light on the relationship between monetary and economic
stability and its impact on social equity.
Her thesis (soon to be published as a chapter in Dr. Charles Becker’s new book) will explore macroeconomic models of trailer parks and the effect of the subprime
mortgage crisis on the industry.
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Reed was selected to teach a service learning course to undergraduates at Duke focused on grant writing, fundraising, and educating her peers about the most pressing social issues in the Durham community.
Some of Reed’s service to the Latin American community includes:Teaching English in Chitre, Panama for elementary students, parents, and school administrators
Working in the ESL department of Watts Elementary schoolTeaching at the Durham International Montessori School in the La Casa Spanish Language Immersion
Department
Some of her favorite courses:
LATAMER 198: Latin American Left Turns: A New Policy for the 21st Century?
(Professor John French and Alexandre Fortes)
ECON 196: Irrationality in Economics
I LOVED this class because it was with a renowned behavioral economist and I learned why we do not behave like the rational, self-interested, and emotionless actors of economic models).
NEUROSCI 137: Neuroethics
I got to study how the behavioral and the neurosciences are changing the way we think about economics, law, and politics.
ECON 195: Financial Risk Management
Some of her most memorable moments at Duke have been her interactions with international students. Reed loves hearing first hand about the historical events and the political leaders that she reads about in classes!
She studied abroad in Madrid and focused on Brazil in all of her classes related to Latin America, because “—like the rest of the world—I am fascinated with Lula.”
Her plans after graduation include driving cross-country with her roommate, helping Dr. Becker finish working on his new book, studying for the GRE and taking Portuguese
classes to prepare for a Master’s degree in Economics. (Possible graduate programs include: El Colegio de Mexico, UDLA in Quito, and the Vargas Foundation in Brazil).
Eventually, she would like to work in consulting or investment banking in Latin America.
Katherine Soltis
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Receiving a
Bachelor’s degree in
Political Science and
International Comparative
Studies
Her honors thesis was
titled
“Biting the Bullet and
Banning Guns: The
Brazilian National
Referendum of 2005 and
Its Defeat at the Polls”
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Volunteer Activities
Assisted with research on racial inequality in education at the Civil Rights Center at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
Provided one-on-one tutoring in English through Gente Aprendiendo Nuevas Oportunidades (GANO)
Volunteer Development Coordinator of Manna Project International, where she helped prepare volunteers for a spring break service trip to Ecuador
Participated in WISER, where she transcribed interviews on HIV/AIDS education programs in Kenya
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Academic Achievements
Member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the Duke Political Science Honor Society
Research Awards: Dean’s Summer Research Fellowship, Mellon Grant from CLACS, and an ICS travel grant to conduct research in Brazil for her thesis.
Dean’s List with Distinction
Published Work“Democratization in Chile: An Analysis of the 1988 Plebiscite” Duke Political Science Standard 2011
and various other publications while at COHA (2011)
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Katie is part of the Duke International Relations Association, Duke Moot Court, and the Editorial Board for Duke Political
Science Standard .
After graduation she will attend Harvard Law School
Geneva (summer 2009) Brazil (summer 2010)
Madrid (fall 2010)
Study Abroad