Read the full student spotlight of Grace Kelly, written by Nancy Joseph, on the College of Arts and Sciences website. Start reading below to hear about her interesting career exploration pathway!
When it comes to exploring the world, Grace Kelly doesn’t play favorites. She grew up visiting relatives in Ireland most summers and briefly lived with a host family in Barcelona during high school. Her first UW study abroad was in Vietnam, and she chose the East Asian track of the international studies major in the Jackson School of International Studies, but she also spent a semester in Spain, studying at a university in Madrid. And she was drawn to courses about Eastern Europe and Russia.
“I’m a curious person, and everything in the Jackson School sounded so interesting that it was hard to focus on just one region,” says Kelly, who graduated from the UW College of Arts & Sciences this month with departmental honors.
Kelly long envisioned a career in the US Foreign Service, exploring the world while promoting diplomacy. She has put that idea on hold for the moment, but it is still her long-term goal. In the meantime, her passport is always within reach.
The Legacies of War
Though she is a dual citizen of the US and Ireland, Kelly is as homegrown to the University of Washington as it gets. Born and raised in Lake Forest Park, Washington, just north of Seattle, she is the daughter of a UW alum. The family visited the campus often, especially during cherry-blossom season.
By the time Kelly arrived as a first-year student, she was set on majoring in international studies. “I love traveling and learning different cultures and languages, so I declared the major by the end of my freshman year,” she says.
A month-long study abroad program in Vietnam only strengthened Kelly’s resolve.
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