Hannah surveying the beautiful Georgian countryside
Hannah Lynch grew up in the scenic coastal town of Newport, Rhode Island with her parents, younger brother, and a black lab named Brady. Hannah currently attends American University where she is in her senior year majoring in International Studies with a concentration in Peace, Global Security, and Conflict Resolution. This semester Hannah is taking American Public Power and Policy, Causes of War, and International Economics. Her favorite class thus far i is the Causes of War, where she has worked in a lab researching disruptive technologies and their intersection with conflict. She is also evaluating theory on how conflict arises and may change as a response to disruptive technologies in the future. Hannah has always had an interest in International Affairs and she loves grappling with the latest problems on the world stage. Hannah also passionate about stopping increasing the rise of populism and hate speech that has been fermenting around the globe.
When asked about what she enjoys doing in her free time, Hannah jokes that she does not have much of it; most of her free time is devoted to school work. She does enjoy playing tennis when she can. In fact, she played on her high school's tennis team. She also loves being the "social hostess with the mostess;" she and her roommates love entertaining large groups of friends at their apartment.
Hannah was fortunate enough to spend two semesters abroad. She first spent a semester in Wellington, New Zealand, where she was an exchange student at the Victoria University of Wellington. The most memorable adventure from her time in New Zealand was when Hannah and her friend rented a camper van and took a 10-day road trip around the country that culminated with seeing a Drake concert in Auckland. Hannah also studied in Brussels, Belgium where she attended American University’s EU in Action Program. The EU in Action program allows students from American University to gain firsthand knowledge and experience about the EU and NATO through classes and a semester-long internship. Hannah worked with CEJI, an organization that promotes multicultural diversity in Europe.
Hannah making the plunge while in New Zealand
Hannah loves to travel. Two particular trips stand out for her. When Hannah was younger, she lived in Costa Rica for a year. Her family went there to visit friends for a short vacation, and they fell in love with the country, spontaneously deciding to spend a year there. Hannah has fond memories of her time in Costa Rica and will always hold the country and the time she spent there close to her heart. While she was studying in Belgium, Hannah had an opportunity to travel to the Balkans and Georgia. Hannah was blown away by the rugged beauty, the delicious food, and the warmth of the people she met on her trip. She was not expecting to enjoy these exotic parts of the world as much as she did but was grateful for an opportunity to travel to such beautiful places that few Americans ever visit.
During her time in Belgium, Hannah became passionate about gender equality in the international policy arena. When she met experts in the field, she was surprised by how few women occupied senior roles in policy organizations and how male-dominated the field was.
Her passions line up well with the mission of WIIS, and she is proud to help WIIS work towards making the international security agenda more inclusive by promoting the contributions of women working in the field. Hannah's duties at WIIS this Fall include managing WIIS' various social media accounts (Make sure to follow us at @wiis_global on Twitter and Instagram, !). Hannah is also conducting a content analysis of the past three NATO Women Peace and Security Policies and Action Plans, and increasing WIIS' outreach to local DC-area colleges and universities to help empower young women interested in joining the international policy and security fields.
Hannah soaking up the sun in Santorini, Greece