Vlada Yaremenko is excited to begin a career in international development, having recently graduated with her master’s degree from the London School of Economics. Prior to graduate school, Yaremenko was a student at the University of Utah, and her many Hinckley Institute experiences helped set her on the right professional path.

During her time at the U, Yaremenko engaged with many Hinckley programs, including a local internship with the United States National Committee for UN Women Utah Chapter in Salt Lake City, a Washington, D.C. internship with Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP), a global internship in New Delhi, India with Maitri India, the John Price Think Tank course on Africa and the Capitol Encounter Course.

From learning more about the African continent in the John Price Think Tank to being immersed in American government and policy making in the Capitol Encounter class, each unique Hinckley experience provided Yaremenko with invaluable local, national and international experiences during her undergraduate years.

Yaremenko’s bank of memories from her Hinckley experiences are many and diverse, and her time interning in Washington, D.C. with YPFP really stands out. While completing her national internship, she and other YPFP members were selected to participate in a prestigious educational tour of the United Arab Emirates!

We were guests of the Crowned Prince of Abu Dhabi and traveled to meet with different ministries and world-renowned organizations such as UAE-USA Business Council, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), an anti-terrorist organization Hedayaand the UAE Ministry of Science. My national internship also turned out to have an international component and I learned so much not only from working for such an exciting organization such as YPFP, but also from engaging with its external partners like assisting the UAE Embassy in coordinating this trip.

Yaremenko graduated from the U in 2019 with a BA in International Studies with an emphasis on Culture and Identity and a minor in Music. Her Hinckley experiences opened up a lot of doors post graduation. She became involved with UN once again to plan the 68th UN Civil Society Conference in Salt Lake City. While at the conference, she met her future employer and began a career with the Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah). After nearly three years with EDCUtah, she left to further her academic career and obtained a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies. Yaremenko is currently exploring various career opportunities but hopes to use her degree to help her homeland of Ukraine to recover and rebuild after the war.