Colin Witman
Colin Witman is originally from Buffalo, New York. He moved to Rochester, New York when he attended St. John fisher as an undergraduate student. While at St. John Fisher, Colin majored in International Studies and History, while minoring in English Professional Writing. In the Fall of 2021, he will be attending American University in Washington, D.C. to earn a master’s degree in American Foreign Policy and National Security. In the future, Colin would like to pursue a PHD and work in a policy institute to study and research various global issues that affect the United States and their national security.
At the United Nations Association of Rochester, Colin is interning with the Vice President of Programs where he works with membership outreach and administrative activities such as creating the agenda for the Board of Directors meetings. He also works on the UNAR web development team where we are updating our website by producing content and design for a team of web developers. One international topic that interests him is global development and how the developed world could mitigate security threats by working with underdeveloped regions to enhance their well-being. So far, he has been able to travel to many countries around western and central Europe, but his favorite experience was a study abroad opportunity in the Czech Republic!
Tasia Shen
Tasia Shen is originally from China where she lived all throughout the northwest of the country. She has lived in various different community settings but is now living in California. Tasia attends undergraduate school in Rochester, New York where she is studying at the University of Rochester. She is taking courses in both the social sciences and technical sciences as she is majoring in Political Science and also minoring in computer science! Upon graduation from the University of Rochester, Tasia plans to pursue a graduate degree in either public policy or a similarly related field.
At the United Nations Association of Rochester, Tasia is interning with both the main office and our Rochester Refugee Resettlement Center partner! In the office, she is assisting with the current update of the UNAR website where she has been helping with the logistics of the various developers, and also creating content to distribute to the developers. While working at the refugee center, she assists refugees in acclimation to Rochester and help with essential work. Tasia has been fortunate enough to have many international experience in Eastern Asia and also studying abroad in the United Kingdom. Some international topics that she has a significant interest in and hopes to work with in the future include climate change, sustainability and solving humanitarian crises.
Pema Lama
Pema Lama was born and raised in New York City, NY. She then moved to Rochester, New York to attend the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2020. Currently, Pema is a sophomore majoring in Sociology while also minoring in Communications. She also is a research assistant working for a Sociology journal at R.I.T. Upon graduation in 2024, she hopes to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector where she can add to the list of the many countries that she has traveled to.
At the United Nations Association of Rochester, Pema is interning in many different offices. Some of her tasks include Grant Writing, Fundraising, and Research as well as working on organization development. Similar to the United Nations Association Model UN competition, she is on the board of the RIT Model UN Team. As a seasoned veteran in international experiences, Pema previously attended an International School in Nepal, where she had learned love to read books, try new food and learn new languages (she’s trilingual!). An international topic that she is very interested in is international gender equality and the promotion of universal human rights.
Elizabeth Reynolds
Elizabeth (Liz) Reynolds was born and raised in Rochester, NY. She moved to Geneseo, New York to study at SUNY Geneseo. While at Geneseo she earned a bachelor’s degree in international Relations and Spanish. This fall, she will be starting a masters’ program for International Public Policy & Diplomacy at University College Cork in Ireland. Elizabeth’s academic and career interests are leading her into the field of international law, human rights and diplomacy where she hopes to apply her study of foreign languages and conflict to contemporary international issues.
Elizabeth is interning for the summer with the Rochester Refugee Resettlement Services as key facilitator for their middle school ARSEO program, which stands for Advancing Refugee Student Educational Opportunities. There, she provides classroom and personal support to local refugee children. Her favorite international opportunity was prior to graduation when Liz studied abroad in Spain honing her second language skills and volunteering in Puerto Rico, aiding in disaster relief and translation services. In her free time, Liz enjoys traveling, hiking and reading.
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