Our last day of the practicum actually took us to Vienna, where the International Centre (VIC) houses multiple UN committee offices as well as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Someday working for the latter has been a dream of mine for years, and getting to tour the offices and attend presentations by multiple IAEA employees was pretty special. The work done there on safeguards, incident emergency response, international monitoring, and more is so critical to the peaceful future of our planet!
One of the best things I observed at the VIC reminded me of one of my favorite things about MIIS: within those halls, men and women of all colors and backgrounds, speaking dozens of languages (or speaking English with dozens of cool accents), greeted each other and worked together towards really admirable goals on a daily basis. Seeing that cooperation and diversity was like seeing a microcosm of what the world should be. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have attended this practicum and learned from so many people here - it's one step closer to getting to be a part of that community.