What I’ve Learned in My First Week in Leuven

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It’s been a rapid-fire start to our time together in Belgium, complete with several trips, side quests, and visits to the Indian restaurant. Immediately first struck by the beauty and college energy of Leuven, my experience has only gotten better as I continue to make new friends and memories and find more cool places around Belgium.

What I’ve Learned

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My biggest takeaway from our visits to political organizations (NATO, EU, etc.) is how the people within the engine work. They all must be “media trained”, sticking to the talking points of the “party” or organization that employs them. Nonetheless, it has been very interesting to hear their responses to questions, and often times it is the way that they respond that is even more interesting than the response itself.

Contribution to Phase 1 Deliverable

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The slide had vague directions, but I’m pretty sure that what you’re asking about is my contribution to the project proposal - Our group had two tasks to work on simultaneously — the European Commission briefing & our project proposal. For our project, our team began brainstorming ideas several weeks ago. When it came to narrowing the scope of our project, I spearheaded the conversation, taking our team to meet with Gerber to discuss the details. Narrowing in on economics and wealth inequality, I began planning roles for each of us, breaking up tasks to deliver our proposal. I then wrote the first rough draft of the proposal, leaving the task of searching for datasets for my teammates.