The Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc. (JBANC) hosts a few interns during the year.
Today, we profile Sophie May, who is working with the organization remotely – and intensively – during her university studies. She has been focusing on raising awareness about Russia’s war against Ukraine, and in helping to implement JBANC’s campaign to urge U.S. cities to suspend ties with Russian Sister Cities. Her own hometown of Buffalo recently broke off relations with its Russian counterpart, perhaps in part thanks to the personal appeal that she made to the mayor there. She has also been involved in preparations for JBANC’s Baltic Advocacy Days, scheduled for May 2-6, 2022.
Sophie May is a graduating senior at the University of Buffalo studying political science, French, and history.
Her academic interests center around Eastern European politics, and the Baltics are of particular interest to her due to their remarkable resilience through centuries of various regional and imperial affiliations, foreign occupation, and wars.
At her university, Sophie is the President of the French Club and the Vice President of the Political Science Association, as well as a research assistant for two different departments. As a 2022 recipient of the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship, Sophie will be entering the Foreign Service in 2025 after two years of graduate school. She will be attending Georgetown University as a student of Eurasian, Russian, and Eastern European Studies in Fall 2023 after spending nine months as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Latvia. At JBANC, Sophie has been developing relevant skills and regional expertise that will help her prepare for her upcoming nine-month stay in Latvia.
Karl Altau
Managing Director
JBANC
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