Alumni

Welcome Alumni!

Welcome to all alumni! 

International relations majors are accomplishing incredible things in Michigan and all around the world. We love to hear from you! If you'd be interested in being featured in one of our spotlights, send an email to [email protected] with a picture and some or all of the following:

  • Name, major(s), minor(s) (optional), and year of graduation from GVSU:
  • Describe your accomplishment (education, work, voluntarism, etc.), and optionally, anything you did previously (just a couple of sentences or as much as a page):
  • Anything you’d like to mention about how your classes, professors or activities at GVSU prepared you for your current path (optional): 

If you are looking to make contact with fellow alumni, check out the GVSU PLS and IR alumni Facebook group.

If you need a letter of recommendation, you'll find our letter of recommendation guidelines here, and faculty contact information here

We look forward to hearing from you!

Spotlights

Jasmine Caldwell Spotlight

Jasmine Caldwell

Social Security Administration, Chicago

Jordan (Crandell) Baah Sackey Spotlight

Jordan (Crandell) Baah Sackey

Program Manager for Jobs for the Future (JFF). 

Jillian Zirnhelt Spotlight

Jillian Zirnhelt

Peace Corps Fiji, IMF Researcher, now Ph.D. candidate in Economics at the University of Pittsburgh

Jessica Soto Smith Spotlight

Jessica Soto Smith

2011 Graduate at the Buffett Institute for Global Studies at Northwestern University, manages the marketing and communication strategy for NCA.

Meghan (Thatcher) Neuhaus Spotlight

Meghan (Thatcher) Neuhaus

LMI Project Manager for Consumers Energy.

View More Spotlights

Distinguished Alumni

Periodically, the Political Science Department is asked by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to invite a Political Science or International Relations alumnus to campus for the Distinguished Alumni-in-Residence program. The program provides a venue for departments to invite outstanding alumni back to campus to share their post-graduation experiences with the GVSU community.  Through the program, our distinguished alumni have the opportunity to share their insights about what constitutes strong academic preparation for students.

Political Science and International Relations Distinguished Alumni-in-Residence:
James Spaanstra 2005
Edward Cardenas 2006
Bob Monaghan 2007
James Meernik 2010
Nerina Cevra 2012
Richard Damstra 2015
Tim Zeeb 2017
Alan Dunklow 2019

Distinguished Alumni

Richard Damstra Spotlight

Richard Damstra

Foreign Service Office, U.S. Department of State

James Spaanstra Spotlight

James Spaanstra

Energy and Natural Resources Attorney

Alan Dunklow Spotlight

Alan Dunklow

Assistant Attorney General for Maryland

Robert Monaghan Spotlight

Robert Monaghan

Corporate Executive and Nonprofit Leader

Tim Zeeb Spotlight

Tim Zeeb

Managing Director in Finance

View More Distinguished Alumni

News

Robach attends the National Conference of the World Affairs Council as a Student Scholar

Robach attends the National Conference of the World Affairs Council as a Student Scholar

Olivia Robach (PLS and IR double major) earned a scholarship to join student scholars from around the US to attend the annual conference of the World Affairs Council in Washington, DC in November 2025.

Dec 3, 2025

Ozinga Starting Law School at Case Western

Ozinga Starting Law School at Case Western

IR alum Kyla Ozinga is starting law school at Case Western

Sep 16, 2025

IR and PLS Alumni Starting Law School

IR and PLS Alumni Starting Law School

PLS, IR and Human Rights alum Taylor Bessinger is attending the University of Illinois College of Law

Sep 12, 2025

Salam Attending Harvard Law

Salam Attending Harvard Law

IR alum Shireen Salam is attending Harvard Law School.

Sep 9, 2025

Diven Honored with Award

Diven Honored with Award

Professor Polly Diven received the 2025 Hillman-Orr Award from the World Affairs Council of West Michigan.

Jun 23, 2025

View More News

Events

Fulbright US Student Program - Institute of International Education (IIE) Virtual Information Session

March 5, 2026 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Interested in teaching English abroad as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA)? Curious about the Fulbright Study/Research (S/R) grants for US students seeking support for independent research...

Drop-In Days of Service

March 6, 2026 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Drop-in Days of Service are on-campus opportunities for students to "drop in" and complete service projects for service hours.  Click here for additional information

Fulbright US Student Program - Virtual Information Session

March 11, 2026 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Are you interested in teaching English abroad? Are you curious about studying for a Master's degree abroad? The Fulbright program might be for you! Join me to learn more! For more Information...

Elect Her (INT 100 approved)

March 19, 2026 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Running Start, the non-profit organization that runs the Elect Her program, brings campaign training and real-world experiences from currently-elected officials to college campuses across the U.S....

Democracy 101: "Strongmen and How to Get Rid of Them" (INT 100/201 approved)

March 30, 2026 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Join us for a broad, quick survey of various “strongmen” that came to power more-or-less democratically throughout the past century, then subverted democracy and became autocrats. There...

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Page last modified October 25, 2019