Our Alumni Community

In late 2015, John started a Cuba travel and consulting business, organizing tourism and business trips to Cuba and helping navigating the legal and regulatory landscape. John is based in New Orleans but in Havana frequently. He was a Study Abroad student at Richmond in 1997 who later graduated from Boston University in History and Politics and then the University of Alabama School of Law. “My time at Richmond profoundly influenced the rest of my life. Living and studying with such an interesting, diverse group of people, in one of the greatest cities in the world, expanded my perspective and set me on the path that I’ve been on ever since. Being open to the world, to the common humanity of everyone, and wanting to contribute…Richmond inspired all of this in me.

To my fellow Richmond alums: Come visit!”

You can connect with John below:

Website: www.cubatradeandtravel.com
Email: johnwhaffner@gmail.com

Ibrahim Zakari is an honorary special adviser to the government of Katsina state, Nigeria on international relations and investments. In just 2 years of his appointment, he has been able to attract a lot of foreign investment to the state without a financial commitment from the state. The best and forefront of it all is a modular refinery which will be co-financed by European and American investors. He has also been able to provide employment to thousands of youths and empowered widows in the state in order to alleviate poverty. He calls for support from Richmond Alumni, Supporters and Friends to support the development of his projects in Nigeria.

“Richmond has influenced my drive in working with various ethnicities and religions as it is in our motto “Unity in Diversity”. Having studied in a multilingual and multinational environment, it exposed me to think and see things out of the box. I see the world as “one”. I don’t see myself as a Muslim, Nigerian, Black or African but as a human being. In my empowerment, I don’t look at your ethnicity, religion or background but at your needs. I can say Richmond has really helped me in this aspect of my life.”

Gaia is a freelance creative entrepreneur spacing from audio-visual to music projects and up until 2018, was the  Creative Director of Trussardi Group for which she supervises all creative aspects, from the conception and development of the collections to style and advertising campaigns. Gaia joined her parents in the family business at a very young age. Over the years, she has worked in all areas of the company’s creative and production process – from materials selection to stylistic decisions – gaining great entrepreneurial expertise and perfecting her trend-setting approach. Gaia Trussardi is currently a member of the Board of Administration of the group.

Gaia, who earned a degree in Sociology and Anthropology obtained at Richmond the American University in London, London where she lived for years, is a keen observer of lifestyles and trends in various cultural areas such as fashion, society, communications, and music. She has recently agreed to become a Visiting Professor at Richmond University.

Trussardi in the news

“Studying at Richmond gave me the opportunity to get an international perspective on international relations. Richmond excels at bringing together people from various backgrounds, forcing them to confront preconceived ideas about each other and about the world in which we live. In my first year at Richmond, I had ten different professors from seven different countries and classmates from dozens more. Coming from a small town in the mid-western U.S., this experience alone was profound. Never before in my life had I been surrounded by such diversity. Another advantage of Richmond is the access that students have to their professors. They develop meaningful connections with the students and offer one-on-one mentorship. I can’t stress enough how helpful it was to be able to show up at office hours and talk through complicated issues or to get advice about internships and careers. It made all the difference.

Today, I am a Foreign Service Officer (diplomat) with the U.S. State Department in Washington D.C, posted to our consulate in São Paulo, Brazil. My job is to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives while building strong and meaningful business, cultural, and personal relationships between the United States and Brazil.”

The text above was written by Perry Stamp in his personal capacity. The opinions expressed are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of the U.S. Department of State, or the United States government.

“My year at Richmond was very exciting in both the learning and the social aspects. The small class size made it easier to make connections, switching from classmates to good friends. I had the opportunity to take very interesting courses, held by some of the best faculty members. My Richmond experience has granted me the chance to develop skills and competencies such as multitasking, teamwork and rigour. At the same time, it has encouraged me to grab each and every opportunity, to do more and be more, a mind-set that is incredibly valuable in both the workplace and elsewhere, and I am so grateful for that.”

Dounia is currently a Consultant Wealth and Asset Management at Ernst and Young in Paris.

“One of the greatest aspects of studying at Richmond was the liberal arts element to my International Relations degree. As well as being able to study my main subject, I was able to supplement this with other courses that I would not have necessarily been able to study in a typical British university. A liberal arts degree allowed me the freedom to fine tune my degree to what I wanted to get out of it rather than be set on a course that I wasn’t 100% sure of. During my studies, I was able to take courses that would have otherwise been unavailable to me yet still managed to build upon my degree and expand my understanding of the international system and its history. “

“Since leaving Richmond, I believe that I have been able to put my liberal arts education to good use as I currently work in the UK Parliament for a Government MP. I am able to look at problems and policies more comprehensively than looking at something in a more focused and black and white way. I wouldn’t hesitate to encourage everyone to take up a liberal arts degree as it has endlessly improved the quality of my degree and preparedness for the future.”

Ryan works for Chris Philp MP, Member of Parliament for Croydon South.

Tessy is currently the Global Advocate for Young Women and Adolescent Girls for UNAIDS (Geneva), an Associate Fellow in the Global Health Department at Chatham House (London), a Trauma Therapist at Groupe de Support Psychologique (Luxembourg), as well as one of the co-founders and executive members at Professors without Borders – a social enterprise that aims to bring quality education all around the world. Among other activities, Tessy also participates with many other charitable organisations and frequently presents at various international conferences and summits all around the world. In the past, Tessy was an officer in the Luxembourg Army – having participated in the peacekeeping mission in ex-Yugoslavia – and the Luxembourg Representative at the NATO Allied Command Transformation Conference. She has also worked at the Embassy of Luxembourg in Geneva and London.

She is now the newly appointed Director of VICE Media Impact for the whole EMEA regions.

Rami worked for Richmond within the Middle East recruitment and Admissions team between 2009 and 2010 and now works as the Public Relations & Marketing Coordinator at Le Royal Meridien Abu Dhabi.

Rami was interested in coming to Richmond because of its diverse culture and his own desire to live and study in London. He chose to study a major in marketing as he enjoys the creative processes involved in the development of new ideas. “For me, Richmond is characterised by the friendly atmosphere of campus life and the diversity of its student body. Most importantly, I feel that a key advantage to Richmond’s education and culture is the one-to-one relationships that students develop with their professors.”

“The quality of teaching at Richmond was exceptional. I acquired practical tools that equipped me to further my studies via a post-graduate degree. As a Master’s student at the London School of Economics it has prepared me to engage with my work and has equipped me with the skills to cope with the fast paced environment of the LSE. The teaching style at Richmond was very interactive. Lecturers were very engaging, approachable and helpful and small classroom sizes made it easy to engage with peers and professors. The course elements gave me the ability to create and start various initiatives due to the unique make-up of the University. My Richmond experience allowed me to explore my interests and I was able to determine where my passion and strengths lie, which completely changed my perspective and career path.”

During his time at Richmond, he was very involved both socially and academically. Sanjay co-founded the Richmond International Action Network, a charitable organisation assisting local economic growth in developing nations and became a Resident Advisor, supporting the welfare of students living on campus. Sanjay achieved a Summa Cum Laude US honours and First Class BA (Hons) UK degree. After Richmond, Sanjay completed postgraduate studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science whilst simultaneously completing a work placement with the Chief Shadow Secretary to the Treasury in Parliament. He is now working at the National Audit Office scrutinising the UK government’s public spending on behalf of Parliament.

“The three years I spent at Richmond were not only invaluable but laid a strong foundation for both my personal development and professional career. From an academic standpoint, the quality of teaching and range of courses on offer as well as the diverse inputs from its international students, all contribute to making Richmond superior to many of the top European universities. My own experience of Richmond was enriched with the discovery of many cultures and people from backgrounds so different from my own, as well as helping me to develop a confidence in expressing my own opinions”.

Aleksandra later obtained an MSc European Politics and Governance from the London School of Economics (LSE) in 2004. Aleksandra currently works as Assistant to the Director-General at the European Commission in Bruxelles, and previously as an International Relations Officer at Directorate General Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

Bobby started out working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. He quickly realized that his ambitions were to lead him elsewhere. He is a popular culinary figure throughout Asia, both for his two highly-regarded restaurants in Vietnam in Hanoi and Saigon, and for the award-winning TV series World Café. Half Egyptian, half Chinese, born in New Zealand, educated mostly in England and California. He lives most of the year in Vietnam and travels throughout Asia, cooking food that has been described by the Asian Wall Street Journal as ‘The best Californian cuisine outside of California’. In 2013, Bobby founded a new Vietnamese restaurant, The House of Ho, in Soho, London. Since 2016 he has been a Top Chef Judge MBC.

Marina is a Senior Copywriter & Producer, based in Los Angeles, USA. She was at Richmond in 1972 as part of the Study Abroad programme. She developed a strong career as content and copywriter, that toot her to become a Creative Director at Big Imagination Group, a full-service brand strategy, creative and digital marketing agency located in Los Angeles Arts District and she was recently appointed as Content Strategy Manager within the group.

Cierra graduated from Richmond University in 2016 with a degree in International Relations and a minor in Psychology. She was actively involved with Richmond University student affairs and maintained a Saylor has was also awarded the Thomas Pickering Scholarship to study and MA in Diplomacy at George Washington University in Washington DC. She is a 2017-2018 Graduate Ambassador at the Center for Student Engagement, Division of Student Affairs, GWU.

Watch her graduation speech on YouTube.

Jade took off his career as consultant, specializing in sourcing and evaluating private investments in the MENA region. He moved to San Francisco to join Merrill Lynch in their investment advisory division. He was promoted in 2014 to Senior Analyst within the Private Banking and Investment Group and managed a portfolio of a long/short equity strategy, being also a member of his team’s Investment Committee. As Associate at GCSM (Global Sustainable Capital Management) he develops financial and operating models for equity transactions.

Jade is a charter member of the Beta Psi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and is a CFA Level 3 candidate. He also holds an MBA from INSEAD.