Mercer Times

Natalia Lalin, a senior at Princeton University, entered with plans to major in neuroscience but shifted her focus to public policy after taking a variety of courses during her first year. Among these was the Freshman Seminar “Sentencing and Punishment,” which led her to pursue coursework at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA).

Following her sophomore year, Lalin interned in U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill’s office on Capitol Hill. There, she networked with Princeton alumni including Chris Lu ’88, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform, and Lisa Brown ’82, general counsel of the U.S. Department of Education. This experience broadened her understanding of service beyond medicine.

“Service is so broad, and there are so many other opportunities that you can engage in, especially in policy and law,” Lalin said.

During her junior year, Lalin deepened her engagement with public service through various roles. She served as a research assistant with SPIA’s Bridging Divides Initiative and participated in a Policy Task Force focusing on international institutions' effectiveness.

“That launched me more into the human- and civil-rights sphere,” she noted.

Lalin's summer following junior year was marked by internships with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (U.N. Women) and the Division on Civil Rights at the New Jersey Attorney General’s office. She also studied abroad at the University of Cambridge in England.

For her senior thesis, Lalin researched China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) effects on Sri Lanka. Her work focused on how BRI loans led to China taking control of Sri Lanka's Hambantota port when repayment failed, raising concerns about potential military use.

“That was criticized in the very early days of BRI as an example of its dark side,” said Martin Flaherty '81, Lalin’s thesis adviser and visiting professor of public and international affairs.

Post-graduation, Lalin plans to work as a legal analyst before attending law school with a likely focus on international law.

“My long-term goal would be to be an ambassador,” she said.

Lalin traveled to Sri Lanka last summer for interviews with various stakeholders including corporate leaders, government officials, ambassadors, policy experts, community advocates, journalists, academics, and ordinary citizens.

“When you talk to people in Sri Lanka, they say ‘It's actually not [just] the People’s Republic of China,’” she stated. “‘We need to hold our own [Sri Lankan] politicians accountable.’”

Flaherty praised Lalin for adding nuance to conventional views on BRI's impact: “What Natalia did was undermine the conventional story but also come up with a deeper account that gives a much better understanding.”

Lalin’s thesis also addressed Sri Lankan policies post-war that contributed to economic decline prior to facing multiple crises in the 2020s including COVID-19 impacts and rising oil prices due to geopolitical tensions.

After graduation from Princeton University this spring semester 2024 along with others from SPIA majors who share similar aspirations towards careers dedicated towards public services or further studies either within USA or globally; Natalia will commence working initially as Legal Analyst role for two years while preparing herself academically by pursuing Law School specializing particularly around International Law domain thereafter aiming eventually towards becoming Ambassador someday hopefully serving native homeland-Sri Lanka thereby bringing full circle personal-professional journey undertaken thus far ambitiously envisioned ahead long term horizon future prospects aspired thereof ultimately achieving set goals targeted accordingly intended purposefully pursued altogether comprehensively fulfilling meaningfully impactful contribution society overall beneficially holistically accomplished entirely satisfying successfully attained productively rewarded satisfactorily met end result 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