Student Profiles

Our students

Twenty four students from Australia and around the world enrolled in the first intake of US Studies in 2008. This number rose to over 35 students in 2009.

Our students are incredibly diverse and talented. They range in age from recent graduates to mature-age students, with experience that includes teaching, law, government and media, among other professions. Our students hail from Australia, the Americas, Europe and Asia, enriching each other with a wide range of perspectives on the US.

Laura Crommelin

Laura Crommelin worked for a number of years in competition and telecommunications law before deciding to move from Melbourne to join the Masters program. She holds a combined BA/LLB. She is a recipient of a Susan B Anthony scholarship.

"I find the range of topics covered in the program fascinating - while learning about the US, I am also learning about disciplines that I never had a chance to study during my undergraduate degree (finance, foreign relations, cultural studies, history, psychology ... the list goes on). In this way, as well as gaining expertise in issues affecting the US, I'm broadening my understanding of other nations, of Australia, and even of myself!

Another great aspect of the Masters program is the clever course structure and the close interaction between students and staff. I appreciate the flexibility and responsiveness of the academics involved in the program. They seem just as keen to learn from us as we are from them."

Matthew Cross

Matthew Cross has worked and studied legislative and electoral politics. He has previously worked for a Federal Government Minister and on a number of State and Federal campaigns, including the 2004 US presidential election in Washington DC. He holds a BA (Hons) from the University of Sydney. Matthew is pursuing a Master of US Studies and is a recipient of a Susan B Anthony scholarship.

"The US Studies program is the only academic program in Australia that focuses on the US in a detailed and analytical manner. The opportunity to meet and work with academics, business leaders and like-minded students is unique.

As a proud Australian citizen who has an interest in the US, it is great to study about the US looking at it from an Australasian and international point of view. Completing a Masters in US Studies will give me the confidence and skills to apply and undertake academic and business opportunities internationally."

Dean Fernandez

Dean works as a government lawyer and holds a combined Arts/Law degree from the University of Technology Sydney. He has previously worked as an intern for the NSW Minister for Citizenship and Aboriginal Affairs and represents clients from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds on a daily basis. He is undertaking a Master of US Studies and is a recipient of the Rosa Parks Scholarship.

"I have a newfound appreciation of the workings, achievements, and messiness of the US Congress, and take great pride that for a brief period I was intimately part of it all."

Erin Riley

Erin Riley is currently a Master of Letters in US Studies student at the United States Studies Centre. Since completing her undergraduate degree in 2005, she has worked in both new and traditional media. She has written extensively for a range of outlets, including the Irish Examiner and Sportal.com.au, and she contributed a chapter to the Michael Roberts' book The Barrackers are Shouting.

In early 2010, Erin spent two months working on Capitol Hill through the prestigious University Capitol Washington Internship Program.

Erin is a new media aficionado, with a great fondness for the American political blogosphere. She has been blogging at her own site, http://www.naysayersspeak.com, since 2007. Erin currently works as Web Communications Manager at Horticulture Australia Ltd. She has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from the University of New South Wales

VIDEOS & INTERVIEWS

Romney under fire

Geoffrey Garrett says that Mitt Romney's greatest weakness is that many Americans see him as representing Wall Street: a place loathed even more at the moment than Capitol Hill.