Spring break 2025 enabled students in the Gender and Policy Leadership course, taught by Rockefeller Center Executive Director Anna Mahoney, a chance to visit New Orleans, Louisiana to meet with policymakers, alumnae, and local college students with a shared passion for leadership.

This winter the students in Gender and Policy Leadership had the opportunity to take their learning outside of the classroom with an experiential learning trip to Louisiana with Professor Anna Mahoney.

Students in PBPL 85, “Global Policy Leadership,” led by government professor Herschel Nachlis, traveled to Europe to investigate international responses to the global financial crisis, Eurozone crisis and the rise of populism across Europe....

Fueled by candy, Bugles, and an inordinate amount of chicken McNuggets, we spent the night poring over our interview notes, reflecting on how each speaker fits into the broader narrative, and drafting a thorough and comprehensive memo.

On Saturday, our final day and night in Europe, the group spent time unwinding from the busy trip, exploring Berlin, and then furiously finishing our policy memo. After the fun evening on Friday night, many of us spent Saturday morning working on the memo over breakfast, then exploring Berlin in small groups, despite the rainy weather.

We began our second day in Berlin by working on the group memo. After 12+ weeks of focusing on these issues, our travel and course are sadly coming to a close. But in addition to work, we also managed to have some fun, as we took time to explore Berlin's many historical sights and museums....

We arrived at the Basel train station at dawn. As the train moved amongst the snowcapped hills and small towns of central Germany, we napped, snacked, and most importantly, we began to revise the final version of our voluminous memo.

Our final day in Frankfurt began with a visit to the Geldmuseum of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank. During the tour we were able to learn more about the evolution of money in Germany and the EU. We also discovered a visual representation of The Economist's famed Big Mac Index....

We began our second day in Frankfurt by puzzling over the public transportation system. A bit of collaborative mapwork eventually got us on the S-Bahn, headed toward the European Central Bank. Along the way, much was made of the quietness in the car and the smoothness of the ride.

After five eventful days, we bid a fond farewell to Athens, and began our day with an early morning flight to our next destination: Frankfurt, Germany’s financial capital and home to the European Central Bank and Bundesbank....