Hayley Stone is a junior international relations major with an emphasis in global culture and a minor in peace and conflict transformation (PACT) from Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Stone grew up not knowing what she wanted to do in the future, and it wasn’t until she came to AU that she truly discovered her career path.
“I came into AU declared as an international relations major and a PACT minor, because it was fascinating to me,” Stone said. “I actually didn’t know what I wanted to do until I was overseas for the semester and met a lot of cool people who work for the United Nations doing a lot of grass roots non-profit work.” In spring of 2018, Stone spent a semester in the Middle East where she lived in Jordan and also visited Israel.
“I studied the Israel-Palestine conflict for a month, and then I did a culture class, a class on the Islamic faith and we also took Arabic for about seven weeks,” Stone said. “We also went on vacation to Egypt and Morocco.”
Going out of the country was something new for Stone, but it was a very beneficial experience for her.
“The first time I left the country was my senior year of high school,” Stone said. “I’ve been to Africa and I also traveled to Uganda for a couple weeks on mission trips. Spending four months in the Middle East really made the decision for me of what I wanted to do.”
When asked if there are any people or experiences that have influenced her career interests,
Stone said that she has had a lot of positive experiences to lead her where she is now.
“My professors and mentors who I met overseas, at youth group, or on missions trips have really encouraged and affirmed my abilities to do the kinds of things I am interested in,” Stone said.
Stone said she’s not exactly sure what career path she plans on taking after her time here at AU, but she’s really interested in working for the United Nations.
“I’m really fascinated by UNICEF, which is the United Nations’ emergency fund that takes care of all the cildren in the world,” Stone said. “I want to do some sort of non-profit or government thing.”
Stone plans to go to graduate school to get her masters in peace studies, social justice or gender studies. She also hopes to attend a graduate school in Europe.