Global connections

Jules Kopel-Bailey found Lewis & Clark the ideal place to combine his passions for international and environmental affairs. “There’s no way you can avoid connecting the two,” says the double-major. “Fundamentally, international affairs comes down to resource issues. And environmental studies are useless without a global context. It’s about the power politics of nations and how they relate to each other, whether or not we’re going to clean up our acts.”

At Lewis & Clark, Jules has had ample opportunity to study all sides of the issues. For his senior thesis, he is looking at the feasibility of establishing no-take reserves in the ocean as a marine conservation tool. Because New Zealand has had experience in that area, Jules secured a grant from the Lewis & Clark Student Academic Affairs Board to go there and meet with leaders in all areas of the field. “I got a really well-rounded perspective,” says Jules. “Now I’m incorporating everything I’ve learned, both there and in the major, into my thesis. I’m looking at marine reserves from biological and economic standpoints, considering the political realities and the fundamental philosophical issues. It’s been fascinating.”

The high point of his international affairs studies was representing the College at a national conference on foreign affairs, held at West Point in his junior year. Henry Kissinger was the keynote speaker. Jules participated in a nationwide student panel on the environment and human rights. “It was great,” he says, “having built up all this knowledge in the IA major, to get to flex those muscles out there and see if my ideas flew. Lewis & Clark has given me a context for understanding what I see going on in the world, and that’s invaluable.”

Meet more L&C students.