Throughout the past semester, I have been conducting an individualized study in which I researched the cultures of corruption. I wrote an academic paper concerning a case study on the link between cheating and cultural corruption in the case of post-regime change Hungary. While completing this work, I organized a panel of academics to present their work beside mine at the International Studies Association Northeast conference. I included a professor from James Madison University, a professor from Drexel University, a senior visiting scholar of George Mason University from the Alliance for Peacebuilding, and a PhD candidate from the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. In addition to my role as panel organizer and moderator, I successfully presented on my paper entitled, “Setting Up for Failure: Comparing Patterns of Cheating to Rooted Corruption in the Case of Post-Regime Change Hungary.” The conference also gave me the opportunity to view other panel presentations on topics such as global health and the role of gender in the international discourse of modern society. It was great to have the opportunity to dip my feet into the field of academia, which is where I hope to work at some point in the future. Overall, the ISA-NE conference was an exciting and educational experience for me.
