Recipients of the Certificate in Latin

American & Caribbean Studies

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Undergraduate Certificates

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Receiving a

Bachelor’s degree in Economics

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Reed is completing a project on Brazilian exchange rate movements and inflation targeting, in order to shed light on the relationship between monetary and economic

stability and its impact on social equity.

Her thesis (soon to be published as a chapter in Dr. Charles Becker’s new book) will explore macroeconomic models of trailer parks and the effect of the subprime

mortgage crisis on the industry.

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Reed was selected to teach a service learning course to undergraduates at Duke focused on grant writing, fundraising, and educating her peers about the most pressing social issues in the Durham community.  

Some of Reed’s service to the Latin American community includes:Teaching English in Chitre, Panama for elementary students, parents, and school administrators

Working in the ESL department of Watts Elementary schoolTeaching at the Durham International Montessori School in the La Casa Spanish Language Immersion

Department

Some of her favorite courses:

LATAMER 198: Latin American Left Turns: A New Policy for the 21st Century?

(Professor John French and Alexandre Fortes)

ECON 196: Irrationality in Economics

I LOVED this class because it was with a renowned behavioral economist and I learned why we do not behave like the rational, self-interested, and emotionless actors of economic models).

NEUROSCI 137: Neuroethics

I got to study how the behavioral and the neurosciences are changing the way we think about economics, law, and politics.

ECON 195: Financial Risk Management

Some of her most memorable moments at Duke have been her interactions with international students. Reed loves hearing first hand about the historical events and the political leaders that she reads about in classes!

She studied abroad in Madrid and focused on Brazil in all of her classes related to Latin America, because “—like the rest of the world—I am fascinated with Lula.”

Her plans after graduation include driving cross-country with her roommate, helping Dr. Becker finish working on his new book, studying for the GRE and taking Portuguese

classes to prepare for a Master’s degree in Economics. (Possible graduate programs include: El Colegio de Mexico, UDLA in Quito, and the Vargas Foundation in Brazil).

Eventually, she would like to work in consulting or investment banking in Latin America.

Katherine Soltis

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Receiving a

Bachelor’s degree in

Political Science and

International Comparative

Studies

Her honors thesis was

titled

“Biting the Bullet and

Banning Guns: The

Brazilian National

Referendum of 2005 and

Its Defeat at the Polls”

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Volunteer Activities

Assisted with research on racial inequality in education at the Civil Rights Center at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Provided one-on-one tutoring in English through Gente Aprendiendo Nuevas Oportunidades (GANO)

Volunteer Development Coordinator of Manna Project International, where she helped prepare volunteers for a spring break service trip to Ecuador

Participated in WISER, where she transcribed interviews on HIV/AIDS education programs in Kenya

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Academic Achievements

Member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the Duke Political Science Honor Society

Research Awards: Dean’s Summer Research Fellowship, Mellon Grant from CLACS, and an ICS travel grant to conduct research in Brazil for her thesis.

Dean’s List with Distinction

Published Work“Democratization in Chile: An Analysis of the 1988 Plebiscite” Duke Political Science Standard 2011

and various other publications while at COHA (2011)

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Katie is part of the Duke International Relations Association, Duke Moot Court, and the Editorial Board for Duke Political

Science Standard .

After graduation she will attend Harvard Law School

Geneva (summer 2009) Brazil (summer 2010)

Madrid (fall 2010)

Study Abroad