In this blog, Elise Free, an MA in Social Innovation candidate at the Kroc School of Peace Studies, reflects on her experience attending a Graduate Symposium at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution and sharing her research.
Earlier this month, I flew to the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University campus to attend the Graduate Symposium – alongside four other students from the University of San Diego's Kroc School for Peace Studies.
I'll be honest, I submitted the application months ago without thinking much of it. The research I proposed was independent, developed outside of any coursework, and I wasn't sure how it would hold up in a formal academic setting. When I got accepted, I had to actually figure out what I was going to say.
The symposium itself, focused on SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, was one day and entirely student-organized. That structure made a real difference. There was a quality to the environment – less performative, more genuinely curious – that made it easier to take risks and ask questions. Over the course of the day, I attended about fifteen presentations from other students working on issues spanning transitional justice, governance, conflict prevention, environmental policy, and more. Some were from master's programs like mine. Many were PhD students deep into research that had clearly been years in the making. Listening to that range of work in a single room was one of the more clarifying experiences I've had as a graduate student. It's one thing to read across subfields – it's another to hear people articulate why their particular corner of peace and justice work matters, in their own voice, to an audience that understands the stakes.
My own presentation focused on transboundary environmental governance — specifically, a framework drawing on environmental peacebuilding theory to identify four institutional features that allow international cooperation over shared rivers to last. I applied it to the Rhine and Tijuana Rivers as contrasting cases. The Tijuana example builds on work I've been doing through USD's Kroc School and Institute for Peace and Justice, allowing me to combine my theoretical and practical approaches.
Having never attended a graduate symposium or presented research formally, I went in with low expectations. The questions I received after presenting were the most useful part — faculty and students pushed on assumptions I hadn't fully examined, and a few of those challenges are now sitting with me as the research moves forward. Out of the day's presenters, I was selected as one of three recipients of the outstanding presentation recognition, as was fellow Kroc student Holly Burton. For me, the real value was having independent work taken seriously in a room full of people who have been in this field far longer than I have. It was a meaningful exposure as I move toward the end of my MA in Social Innovation program, and a reminder of why this work matters beyond the classroom.
I spent the rest of the weekend in DC, which gave the trip another element – time to decompress, explore, and continue connecting with students and faculty. This gave me a nice reminder of how this work connects to our communities beyond the academic realm.
If there's one thing I'd pass on to other Kroc students, it's to apply anyway. I submitted this application without confidence in my work and without any expectation of being accepted. The research wasn't finished. I didn't have an advisor guiding it. What I had was a question I cared about and enough foundation from my time at Kroc to build something worth sharing. That turned out to be enough. It's also worth knowing that funding exists to make these experiences possible, and I'd encourage any student to ask what resources are available before assuming an opportunity is out of reach. The work you're doing in – and out – of the classroom is worth bringing into new spaces.