The IPS is a offered each year from March 1 through July 31 by the German Bundestag in cooperation with Berlin’s three major universities — the Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Technische Universität Berlin — to approximately 120 young university graduates from up to 50 countries. 

The program’s goals include promoting relations between Germany and the participating countries and strengthening democratic values.

“Having Helen and Soma be selected shows how competitive our students are internationally,” said , a professor in the Department of German. “They are exceptionally well prepared to fully engage with the political and cultural life in Germany. Participating in IPS gives our students a unique opportunity to gain insights into how the political and professional work environment functions in Germany.”

Helen Poe (C’22)

Poe applied to the IPS program to better understand what the policy and law-making process is like in Germany. She wanted to learn how the lawmakers inform themselves, communicate with their constituents and reach compromises. 

“I don’t particularly want to be a politician myself, but I care deeply about cultural exchange and transatlantic relations and would like to work in a governmental organization that deals with these topics in some capacity,” said Poe, who graduated from Georgetown with a double major in German and Russian. “I was hoping to gain a better idea of what specific types of work I might be interested in. And I have!”

At the start of the five-month program, participants attend workshops, presentations and seminars designed to help familiarize them with the principles of parliamentary democracy and the local academic life. The majority of the program takes place in the office of a member of the Bundestag.

Poe typically started her days by sorting mail her member of parliament received. This was one of her favorite tasks. 

“The letters we received from constituents were a really great way to discern which topics the German public was most concerned about at the moment,” she said.

During weeks when the Bundestag was in session, Poe spent very little time at her desk. Instead, she attended parliamentary committee meetings, working group sessions, internal party meetings and sessions where members debated and voted on legislation. She also got to accompany her member of parliament to meetings with constituents, journalists, activists and nonprofit organization representatives.

Poe’s favorite “everyday activity” throughout her internship was attending the Bundestag’s Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid meetings, where lawmakers met with experts from organizations like the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

“Listening to the experts’ reports — and observing their interactions with lawmakers of various parties — has been incredibly eye-opening, and I’ve been able to learn a lot about specific humanitarian crises,” Poe said.

Poe credits her German coursework and linguistic electives as an undergrad in the College for preparing her to succeed in the IPS program. 

“At Georgetown, I learned to write and speak German at an academic level, which is crucial to dealing with complex topics in a fast-paced political environment,” said Poe, who is currently searching for jobs in the field of international education and cultural exchange. “I also developed a solid understanding of German culture, history and current issues and trends, which allowed me to more actively participate in discussions and understand political developments in context.”

Soma Arens (C’24)

Politics in the U.S. and Germany have always interested Arens. 

His mother is from Germany and he grew up speaking German at home. Arens had visited Germany prior to the IPS program, but the opportunity to spend five months in Berlin and learn about issues related to American and German foreign policy and transatlantic relations inspired him to apply. He left Germany grateful for the experience.

“Through the IPS, I have been able to meet like-minded young professionals working in political and political-adjacent fields from around the world,” said Arens, who was a history major and Spanish minor at Georgetown. “Aside from the clear professional benefits, this experience has also been socially rewarding and culturally enriching.”

During the first two months of the program, from the beginning of March to the end of April, Arens attended daily seminars, workshops and lectures. He learned about the German political system from guest speakers that included federal officials, Bundestag staffers, think tank researchers and analysts and journalists.

The second part of the program, from the end of April to the end of July, consisted of the parliamentary internship. Arens collaborated with colleagues to review and analyze proposed and existing legislation, conducted research on a variety of policy issues and prepared reports, wrote press releases and engaged with constituents via email and mail correspondence. A big part of his day involved attending parliamentary sessions, committee hearings and other meetings and briefings.

Arens said his Georgetown education and his time interning on Capitol Hill as an undergrad helped him prepare for the IPS program.

“The global mindset and intercultural awareness I was able to cultivate through my Georgetown education contributed immensely to making my experience in the IPS valuable,” Arens said. 

Working to serve constituents reminded Arens of to live in service to others.

“Georgetown’s commitment to service and its mission of cannot be overlooked in the field of politics where, ultimately, during my internship, I had been working to promote the interests of my member of parliament’s constituents and, more broadly, to strengthen German democracy for the benefit of everyone,” he said.

That’s why, every week, she took time to work with Lutheran Social Services, a refugee resettlement agency in Northern Virginia. There, both in-person and online, she co-taught classes to an all-female club of Afghan refugees, covering topics from financial literacy to feminine health and English as a second language (ESL). 

“It felt natural to join initiatives dedicated to migration and ESL because I wasn’t a stranger,” said Ahmed. “As a daughter of immigrants, education holds a central role in my personal and professional aspirations. Since childhood, I’ve been raised to know that education is not simply a title one accomplishes through an institution, but, rather, an experience that requires academic, emotional, spiritual and physical toiling.”

In the spring, Ahmed was recognized alongside seven other graduating seniors in the ˝Ű×ÓĘÓĆľ & Sciences with the Lena Landegger Community Service Award, celebrating and honoring their commitments and contributions to service. The award, which has recognized Hoyas for exceptional service for more than 25 years, is given in honor of Lena Landegger (H’87), the mother of George F. (F’58) and Carl (C’53).

Listening to the Call to Serve

Recipients of the award, which is given each year to twenty students across the university in memory of its eponym, embody the call, articulated by Rev. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., for alumni of Jesuit universities to be “people for others,” engaged in the struggle for justice to protect the needs of the most vulnerable. 

For Ahmed, that call was deeply personal, and reflected the personal growth that is essential to a Georgetown education. 

“I didn’t seek out these opportunities because they were service-oriented projects, but rather because they resonated with my values, interests and own past,” said Ahmed. “Having these shared experiences, such as translating for my parents during medical appointments, college applications and day-to-day life, allowed me to better connect with the communities I worked alongside.”

In addition to her work with the Lutheran Social Services, Ahmed became involved with the , or DCSP, a program of the Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching & Service. There, she also taught ESL lessons to recently-arrived migrant children from the United States’ southern border. 

“My responsibilities included family outreach, leading information sessions on the Washington, DC, migration context and organizing local advocacy initiatives like distributing school supplies” said Ahmed. “Through this role, I honed my leadership and communication skills by advocating for migrant justice.” 

The through line connecting both programs was an attitude of service in collaboration and fellowship with others. 

“It can be tricky to traverse how to be in solidarity with a community, without disempowering them,” said Ahmed. “What I’ve learned is that service can not be done with the perspective that you are ‘helping’ or ‘giving a voice’ to the communities that you are working with, rather, service must be done from a place of solidarity, and by using your resources to amplify and uplift their narratives.” 

Combining the Personal and the Academic

Like Ahmed, Caroline Vail (C’24) found a second home in the DC Schools Project during her time on the Hilltop. 

“I worked with the DC Schools Project during all 4 of my years at Georgetown,” said Vail. “I was a tutor for 5 semesters, and in the spring of my junior year, I became a coordinator on our school-based team.” 

As a coordinator, Vail supported a small team of tutors as they worked with immigrant students in DC Public Schools on their English language skills. This role involved coordinating with the group’s on-site contacts at the school, communicating with parents and building community among the tutoring team. 

“The biggest lessons I learned from this work were from the relationships that I built with the tutees and their parents, which taught me the importance of working in collaboration with a community rather than simply providing a service or charity to or for a community,” said Vail. 

Vail’s interest in service-based education extended into her academic life. While double-majoring in both linguistics and Portuguese, Vail tacked on a minor in education, inquiry and justice. Her senior honors thesis in linguistics explored the language learning needs of the recently-arrived migrant population that she worked with through DCSP and sought to create a task-based curriculum for tutoring centered on those needs. 

For Vail, her passion for justice is inextricably tied to her faith. On the Hilltop, Vail was deeply involved in campus ministry, serving as a student leader with Chi Alpha, an inter-denominational Christian community. 

“Grounding my commitment to enter into the struggle of the migrant community through solidarity is a firm belief in fundamental human dignity, which encourages me to see each community member as an image-bearer of the Creator,” said Vail. “I see a faith that does justice as one way that I can honor that dignity.”

Today, Vail lives out her ethos of service working as a Student & Family Engagement Coordinator with Center for Supportive Schools, a nonprofit organization contracted by New York City Public Schools to provide support to under-resourced schools. Working at 3 high schools in the Bronx, Vail focuses on projects to increase attendance, improve school culture and climate and promote the wellbeing of the community as a whole.

“I think my faith, and specifically my commitment to honoring fundamental human dignity, was the through line between my academics, my work with DCSP and my leadership in Chi Alpha,” said Vail. “A lot of the information that I learned in the classroom about how we learn languages or about educational equity was directly applicable to my work with DCSP, and vice versa.” 

“I think that the reason that a lot of these things were intertwined was because my motivation was always to honor people and serve the community out of my belief that everyone is made in the image of God.”

Cover illustration by Bratislav Milenković.

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“I was very surprised and at the same time elated by this honor,” said De Fina, a professor in the . “I was surprised because I did not expect it and elated because it was such an important recognition of my work.” 

The Order of Merit, which is bestowed by decree of the President of the Italian Republic, recognizes contributions in the fields of literature, the economy, public service and social, philanthropic and humanitarian activities. De Fina received the commendation of Cavaliere della Reppubblica Italiana, or Knight of the Italian Republic, in a ceremony at the Italian Embassy this fall. 

“This award means a great deal to me because this recognition signifies that the Italian government is paying attention to the efforts that are made by Italians abroad to disseminate our culture,” said De Fina. “This gives me hope that Italian institutions will continue to support the kind of work that we do.”

The Order of Merit was established in 1951 by President Luigi Einuadi but follows in the lineage of Italian orders of merit dating back to the 14th century. 

“My academic work has contributed to highlighting the role of language in the every-day life and in the culture of populations of Italian origins abroad,” said De Fina. 

De Fina, who received her Ph.D. from Georgetown, has taught in the ˝Ű×ÓĘÓĆľ & Sciences since 2004. She has published a dozen books, curated six special issues of academic journals, and authored more than 80 articles in peer-reviewed journals and chapters in edited volumes. 

“We are so proud of Professor De Fina’s accomplishments and are delighted that they have been recognized in this way by the Italian government,” said Vice Dean Andrew Sobanet upon learning of the recent honor.  

A polyglot, De Fina began learning French, English, Latin and Greek at a young age. In addition to her native Italian, this early education in languages sparked an interest in linguistic structure and functionality. De Fina’s research focuses on linguistic variations and the evolution of language among the Italian diaspora, the construction and negotiation of cultural identities, the study of migrant communities and the analysis of narratives. 

“I am interested in the permanence and strength of ethnic identity among Italian Americans even in the face of the massive loss of the Italian language among them and their efforts to maintain some symbolic elements of that language,” said De Fina. “I appreciate the contributions that Italian Americans have made to many fields of social life in the US and the very unique intermingling of Italian and American traditions in their food, arts and culture in general.” 

De Fina is one of four linguists at Georgetown who are among the world’s top 2% most-cited researchers in the field according to recently updated statistics compiled by Stanford University. Her next book, tentatively titled Analyzing Online Narratives will explore online stories published on social media platforms, how those contrast with face-to-face narratives and the constraints and freedoms of digital storytelling environments.