The Jackson Institute for Global Affairs has selected Yale College junior Juanita Garcia Uribe for the 2021 Douglas A. Beck Prize.

The $1,000 award is given to Global Affairs undergraduates who have demonstrated a deep interest in and commitment to global affairs. Winners are selected based on high academic achievement, leadership potential, personal integrity and commitment to public service.

A global affairs and modern Middle East studies major, Garcia Uribe says she was drawn to international affairs and foreign policy early on. Her strong commitment to public service stems in part from her Colombian-born parents, who taught her the importance of having knowledgeable, passionate people serving in government.

“It’s a way to give back and to effect positive change in the world,” says Garcia Uribe, who will be interning remotely for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau for Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism this summer.

At Yale, Garcia Uribe has benefitted from close relationships with faculty mentors, particularly Jackson lecturers Ted Wittenstein and Nicholas Lotito, who will be her thesis advisor in the fall.

“Juanita is an exceptional young woman with a genuine passion for global affairs. She has never shied away from academic challenges,” said Lotito. “With her global affairs major, she has pursued interests in both the Middle East and Latin America. She has excelled in the area studies of both regions, earning a second major in Modern Middle East studies, and in advanced language training in both Arabic and Spanish,” he said.

“I have no doubt that, after Yale, Juanita will go on to make positive change in American foreign policy,” Lotito added.

Outside the classroom, Garcia Uribe serves as managing print editor for the Yale Review for International Studies, participates in two Yale dance groups, and volunteers for the Migration Alliance at Yale student organization, assisting Spanish-speaking asylum seekers.