The Mershon Center for International Security Studies is pleased to announce that Carlin Evans and Lara Teri have been awarded Chadwick F. Alger Peace and Conflict Resolution Undergraduate Student Scholarships.

Carlin Evans will spend the summer in Bogotá, Colombia, interning with the Search Unit for Disappeared People (UBPD), an institution created through Colombia’s peace process to locate and identify individuals who went missing during the country’s armed conflict. Working with projects led by the Mershon Center for International Security Studies, Carlin will support research on “dignified return” processes - ceremonies in which the remains of the disappeared are finally returned to their families. She will also contribute to a separate project developing an international protocol for working with former participants in armed conflict who now assist in search efforts. The internship will give her valuable firsthand exposure to transitional justice efforts and the day-to-day work of supporting families searching for loved ones. Through this experience, she will gain deeper insight into how institutions and communities work together to address the lasting human impacts of conflict.

“This is an opportunity to get firsthand experience in the field of transitional justice,” said Carlin. “Working on these projects at the UBPD’s headquarters will provide me with a deeper exposure to the Unit’s daily operations. I will observe how the Unit carries out its mandate in practice, engages with families throughout the search and dignified return process, and how it approaches investigation and accompaniment. It will also offer valuable opportunities to build relationships with other young professionals committed to the field of transitional justice.”

Lara Teri will spend part of the summer in Geneva, Switzerland, participating in the Advanced Training Program of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA). Through briefings led by United Nations practitioners, negotiation simulations, and skills-based workshops, Lara will gain firsthand insight into how international institutions address complex global challenges through diplomacy and multilateral cooperation. Drawing on her studies in medical anthropology, international diplomacy, and public health, Lara will explore how inequality, political instability, and structural violence shape health outcomes and contribute to conflict. Her participation in the program underscores her commitment to dismantling global health inequities, particularly those rooted in systemic and socioeconomic disparities because while our world may discriminate, illness and disease do not.

The program will also allow her to examine how international frameworks - such as the Sustainable Development Goals and human rights commitments - are translated into policies aimed at peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and equitable access to care. This experience will help prepare Lara for her long-term goal of becoming a physician-advocate working at the intersection of global health and international diplomacy.

“My passion for this trip is closely tied to my early experiences with the United Nations, said Lara. “I first fell in love with the UN as a Model UN delegate in 7th grade. Over the years, I have represented many countries, gained cultural humility, and collaborated with peers to develop policy-driven solutions. That work earned me an OMUN Leadership Award and revealed to me the tangible impact of informed advocacy. In many ways, receiving the Chadwick F. Alger Scholarship feels like both a dream come true and a pivotal step toward my future goals. I am deeply grateful to the Mershon Center and the Alger Scholarship for making this possible.”

The Alger Scholarship commemorates the late Chadwick Alger, professor emeritus of political science and public policy at the Mershon Center. Alger, an authority on peacebuilding and the United Nations system, was director of the Mershon Program in Transnational Intellectual Cooperation in the Policy Sciences (1971-81) and director of the Mershon Program in World Relations (1982-91).

Alger was passionate about his students and helping them engage in research, and this scholarship honors his legacy by supporting undergraduate research in peacebuilding and conflict resolution. Learn more about Chadwick Alger and the Alger Scholarship.