Department of Political Science and International Affairs

Scholarships Shape Recent UMW Alum’s Future in International Affairs

Leave a Comment

When Savannah Sinor ’26 graduated from the University of Mary Washington in May, the international affairs major already had plans to put her UMW education into practice as a business immigration paralegal in her hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina.

A student in a blue cap and gown, smiling and standing on the UMW campus with brick buildings and pink blossoms in the background.
Savannah Sinor ’26, who earned a bachelor’s degree in international affairs at Mary Washington, is working as a business immigration paralegal before pursuing a law degree. Her scholarships helped provide her with a transformative education and impactful learning opportunities like a faculty-led development trip to Guatemala and a U.S. Department of State internship. Photo courtesy of Savannah Sinor.

“My experience has been wonderful,” said Savannah, who oversees several dozen employment-based petitions at a time, using her policy background and professional communication and time management skills she gained from Mary Washington. “I’ve already received several approvals, which is a fantastic feeling because each one represents a real person I’ve helped in their immigrant journey.”

Savannah, who minored in environmental sustainability and French, earned scholarships at UMW that supported her studies as an out-of-state student. The private funding also helped her find her purpose through experiential learning – a faculty-led trip to Latin America, a U.S. State Department internship, and undergraduate research – opportunities that have been foundational for her life and career after Mary Washington.

“My scholarships allowed me to focus more fully on my academic and professional goals without the added stress of financial uncertainty,” said Savannah, who was awarded the Paul and Judith Dresser Merit Scholarship all four years of college. She also earned the Elizabeth Baylor Neatrour ’54 and Mary Ellen Stephenson Memorial, Marjorie Jean Frost ’44, and Smith International Affairs scholarships. “These awards made me feel truly supported by the UMW community.”

Savannah visited Mary Washington for an open house during high school and fell in love with the Georgian architecture and fall foliage. Her college decision was an easy one, she said, thanks to the Washington Guides who helped her navigate campus as well as the faculty members who readily answered her questions.

“Mary Washington is not just a school but a home and community,” said Savannah, who was president of her high school’s Model United Nations chapter and was attracted to the University’s focus on intercultural competence. “Everyone here was welcoming, and UMW was so integrated with Fredericksburg that I knew I could be happy here. And I’ve been so very happy.”

She served as a peer mentor and resident assistant and was active in UMW’s Renaissance Club and The House, an inclusive Episcopalian-Lutheran campus ministry. She also completed the Peace Corps Prep Program through UMW’s Center for International Education.

Through a Sustainable Development course with Professor of Geography Dawn Bowen, she went on a faculty-led study abroad trip to Guatemala. “We stayed in a villager’s home on a mountain top, learning about sustainable development and how to empower women to build their own businesses,” she said.

She wrote her UMW Honors Program thesis on U.S. interventionism during the 30-year Guatemalan civil war, then presented the paper at a national political science conference.

“Savannah was a truly exceptional student, always prepared and willing to engage with unfamiliar material,” Professor Bowen said. “Her thesis was one of the finest pieces of student scholarship that I’ve seen in my three-decades long teaching career.”

Savannah Sinor ’26 took a semester off to intern full time at the U.S. Department of State in the Office of Caribbean Affairs. Photo courtesy of Savannah Sinor.
Savannah Sinor ’26 went on a faculty-led grassroots trip to Guatemala with Professor of Geography Dawn Bowen and her classmates to study environmental and sustainable development. Photo courtesy of Savannah Sinor.
At UMW’s Scholarship Luncheon last spring, Savannah Sinor ’26 shared how earning the Paul and Judith Dresser Merit Scholarship, Elizabeth Baylor Neatrour ’54 and Mary Ellen Stephenson Memorial Scholarship, Marjorie Jean Frost ’44 Scholarship, and Smith International Affairs Scholarship gave her the chance to go on a faculty-led trip to Guatemala, become a full-time intern at the U.S. State Department, and present her research at a national political science conference. Photo by K Pearlman Photography.

Savannah took a semester off to work full time in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Caribbean Affairs, giving her the chance to engage with diplomats and visitors from across the globe.

“I even met a Mary Washington alumna who graduated in the 1960s on a tour of the U.S Capitol,” she said. She also completed a summer internship with the North Carolina Department of Natural Cultural Resources, and another as a grant writer, where she helped apply for over $300,000 in funds to support two client nonprofits.

After spending some time as a paralegal, Savannah plans to earn a law degree and is considering a master’s degree in international affairs, before pursuing a career in the federal government.

Her aspirations are possible, she said, because of the transformative education she found at Mary Washington.

“I had all these opportunities because of my scholarships,” she said last spring at the annual Scholarship Luncheon and Student Showcase. “I’m so grateful for the faculty members and donors who believed in my potential and who’ve invested so generously in UMW students and their futures.”

Learn more about establishing scholarships and how private support makes a difference in the lives of UMW students who receive scholarships, research fellowships, and internship grants. Find scholarship opportunities that are available to UMW students.

-Article written by Assistant Director of Advancement Communications Jill Graziano Laiacona ’04.

UMW Spanish, International Affairs Major Fosters Campus and Cultural Community

Leave a Comment

University of Mary Washington senior Olivia-Lena De Veaux has traveled to Mexico, Guatemala, and the Czech Republic since coming to college. The trio of trips has instilled confidence and curiosity, she said, but she loves coming back to a campus that feels like home.

“You can’t walk between Combs and Jepson Halls without seeing someone you know,” said Olivia-Lena, a double major in Spanish and international affairs from Falls Church, Virginia. “It’s a place overflowing with opportunities to try new things, meet new people, and grow into the best version of yourself.”

That’s what Olivia-Lena, who graduates next month, has been doing at UMW over the past four years. Her academic pursuits have given her the chance to study abroad and complete an internship overseas, courtesy of the Gail Madden Shedlick ’78 Scholarship. Meanwhile, her activities on campus – including serving as Inter-Club Association president – have instilled leadership skills she’ll carry into her career and life after Mary Washington.

UMW Spanish and international affairs major Olivia-Lena De Veaux had the opportunity to study abroad in Mexico and Guatemala as well as complete a summer internship in Prague (where she visited the National Museum, seen here), thanks to the Gail Madden Shedlick ’78 Scholarship. Photo courtesy of Olivia-Lena De Veaux.
Olivia-Lena poses for a photo in Oaxaca, Mexico, with her host mother, Martha, and Martha’s son, Nacho, before returning to the United States. Photo courtesy of Olivia-Lena De Veaux.
Olivia-Lena poses for a photo with UMW President Troy Paino and friend Blake Bauer ’26 during an ice cream social at Brompton. Photo courtesy of Olivia-Lena De Veaux.
Olivia-Lena in Kutná Hora, a Czech Republic province and a UNESCO World Heritage site, during her internship abroad. Photo courtesy of Olivia-Lena De Veaux.
Olivia-Lena, before speaking at the Celebration of Giving last fall, posing for a photo with Student Alumni Ambassador Cameron Gittings ’27. K Pearlman Photography.
Olivia-Lena with friends Jorge and Alicia watching a soccer game in Guatemala. Photo courtesy of Olivia-Lena De Veaux.

“These roles taught me that involvement fuels success,” said Olivia-Lena, who also became a NEST coordinator and peer mentor for New Student Programs and the front desk manager for UMW’s Office of Student Activities and Engagement. “I’ve seen firsthand how being connected to your peers and your campus can transform a student’s confidence and trajectory – my own included.”

As a high school student, she toured college campuses across the Commonwealth and beyond, but something about Mary Washington stood out. “It was vibes; a gut feeling,” she said. “I chose to come here because UMW radiated a sense of belonging.”

Part of that, she said, came from the Impact Program, which offers experiential learning for first-year students, helping them gain unique skills, networking opportunities, and knowledge through service and volunteer work and community and civic engagement. “It gave me the chance to connect with other students who share my values.”

Olivia-Lena also connected with Professor of Spanish Jeremy Larochelle, who oversees the program. Courses like Ideas on Nature in Latin American Literature, which he teaches, inspired her to study in Oaxaca, Mexico, during her sophomore year.

She then traveled with Professor of Geography Dawn Bowen and classmates on a grassroots development trip to remote mountain villages in rural Guatemala, where they learned about cloud forest conservation, community development, and traditional Mayan ecological practices.

“My professors haven’t just given me new knowledge; they’ve given me new questions,” she said. “They’ve encouraged me to stretch my thinking, explore cultures and values outside of my own, and better understand why I’m pursuing the path I’ve chosen.”

That path took her to an internship at a hotel in Eastern Europe last summer. Living in Prague, she navigated professional life for the first time while translating her academic studies into the workplace and embracing a new culture.

Olivia-Lena enjoys a Czech delicacy, ovocné knedlíky, a dessert of fruit dumplings. Photo courtesy of Olivia-Lena De Veaux.
Olivia-Lena and Blake Bauer ’26, who served as student speakers at 2025’s Celebration of Giving, posing in the Office of Student Activities and Engagement, where they both work, before the event. Photo courtesy of Olivia-Lena De Veaux.
Olivia-Lena, who serves as the front desk manager in the Office of Student Activities and Engagement, poses for a photo with UMW mascot Sammy D. Eagle before welcoming students as part of the 2025 NEST cohort. Photo courtesy of Olivia-Lena De Veaux.
Olivia-Lena and her fellow NEST coordinators during a lunch with UMW Dean of Students Melissa Jones, who also serves as associate vice president of student affairs. Photo courtesy of Olivia-Lena De Veaux.
Olivia-Lena was among the student speakers who shared their stories at the 2025 Celebration of Giving. K Pearlman Photography.
From left: Olivia-Lena De Veaux ’26, Martina Nicholson ’25, Shadwick Yoder ’25, Allie Davis ’27, and Amira Said ’26 at a Board of Visitors luncheon, where Olivia-Lena spoke and was voted in as Inter-Club Association president. Photo courtesy of Olivia-Lena De Veaux.

“Because of my scholarship, I could focus entirely on making the most of my work and growth,” said Olivia-Lena, when she expressed her gratitude to UMW supporters at the Celebration of Giving, held last fall by the Office of Advancement and Alumni Engagement. “That freedom made all the difference.”

After graduation, she hopes to continue contributing to meaningful initiatives that foster cross-cultural engagement and have a tangible, lasting impact on others.

“It’s been exhilarating to expand my horizons in ways I couldn’t have imagined four years ago,” she told UMW donors. “You’ve helped create a community where students can belong, dream bigger, and push themselves further than they thought possible.”

Learn more about establishing scholarships and how private support makes a difference in the lives of UMW students who receive scholarships, research fellowships, and internship grants. Find scholarship opportunities that are available to UMW students.

-Article written by Assistant Director of Advancement Communications Jill Graziano Laiacona ’04.