Anna Schowengerdt
MA, , 1996 (International Studies)

Anna Schowengerdt is Business Development Manager for Catholic Relief Services in Baltimore, MD. She manages CRS' acquisition of public funds, which totals about $400 million per year across 99 countries, and leads a team of specialists who work with the agency’s country offices to produce grant and contract proposals.

Of her time at , Anna says an internship in the U.S. Embassy in Conakry, Guinea, helped her choose her career path: “It gave me an inside view of foreign policy at work and taught me some practical skills in policy analysis, representation and negotiation. Based on my studies at and thesis on refugee issues, I ended up serving as the interim U.S. State Department Refugee Coordinator for West Africa. Having that experience on my CV helped get me a job at Refugee Policy Group after graduating from , and positioned me to lead several research teams to West Africa. While traveling in West Africa, I met the Catholic Relief Services director for Liberia, and that led to a job offer.”

Asked what advice she would give current and prospective students, Anna urges students to take advantage of ’ broad, multidisciplinary curriculum and internships offered by the Office of Career Services. She says: “Select courses that have a practical application, and in areas relevant to project management. The NGO relief and development community receive hundreds of applications from recent graduates who have very little professional experience to complement their academic credentials. Experience in an internship or volunteer capacity is important. Even if you have to swallow your pride (and your loans!) for a year after grad school to take a low-paying opportunity overseas, do it--put in your time and showcase it in your CV as a solid professional experience to balance your many years of schooling.”