Miranda Cross, BA’20: Looking Toward Diplomacy

Posted by Kathryn Royster on Friday, July 17, 2020 in Uncategorized.

As a Public Policy Studies major, Miranda Cross ’20 took full advantage of the opportunities offered through both the PPS program and Vanderbilt’s College of Arts and Science. In early 2020, Miranda traveled with fellow Vanderbilt undergraduate Barton Christmas and Holly Tucker, director of the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, to Washington, D.C. There, they advocated for robust humanities funding and met with members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation and a House finance committee.

Vanderbilt students Miranda Cross and Barton Christmas standing between a U.S. and Tennessee state flag with U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander and Marsha Blackburn — L-R: Vanderbilt student Barton Christmas, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Public Policy Studies major Miranda Cross, and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) at the U.S. Capitol. Christmas and Cross traveled to Washington to advocate for robust funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Thanks to support from PPS, Miranda also traveled to Brussels, Belgium to participate in the Young Diplomats Forum. This five-day, immersive experience featured sessions and keynotes with professional diplomats, EU representatives, and Belgian Parliamentarians. The forum brought together 100 students from more than 70 countries, plus numerous young professionals from government and non-profit agencies. “It was a truly remarkable experience and has left me with many lasting memories and connections that will serve me well as I prepare to enter the workforce,” she said.

Public policy studies major Miranda Cross speaks at Young Diplomats Forum in Belgium — Public Policy Studies Major Miranda Cross speaks at the Young Diplomats Forum in Brussels, Belgium. The PPS program funded her participation in the forum, which gives international relations students an inside look at EU diplomacy.