The International Studies (IS) Major at UW–Madison recently hosted its International Career Conversations series, connecting students directly with alumni in high-impact global careers. The events featured three distinguished IS alumni—Matthew Conway, Jessica Lyga, and Jacob Kushner—all of whom have forged paths in international development, humanitarian and human rights work, and journalism. Students were excited to learn from the speakers’ extensive backgrounds and consider their own future impact in their international careers.
The first conversation, held on October 8, 2025, featured Matthew Conway and Jessica Lyga. Conway currently serves as a senior program consultant for the UN’s migration agency (IOM), working in Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), while also serving as the Director of Strategy at Hala Systems, a social enterprise that uses technology and artificial intelligence to enhance civilian protection and accountability for human rights violations in conflict zones.
Conway, who graduated from UW–Madison in 2013 with a double major in political science and international studies, has extensive field experience across Senegal, Iraq, Ukraine, and beyond, having also coordinated national security policy at the White House.
Lyga is the senior strategic partnerships manager at the Freedom Fund, an organization dedicated to ending modern slavery, trafficking, and exploitation. Her career, which has taken her to roles with INGOs and UN agencies in Ethiopia, Jordan, and Türkiye, spans 20 countries across the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Like Conway, Lyga holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies from UW–Madison. She also holds a master’s degree in international development and humanitarian emergencies from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
A separate event on October 10, 2025, co-hosted with the School of Journalism and the Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies Program (LACIS), showcased the career of Jacob Kushner, who holds a B.A. in journalism and Latin American studies from UW–Madison. Kushner is an acclaimed freelance international journalist, author, and educator whose magazine and digital longform stories have appeared in publications like The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and National Geographic. Kushner is the author of two major books: China’s Congo Plan (2013) and Look Away (2024), both favorably reviewed in The New York Review of Books.
Each speaker allowed ample time for true conversation, hearing directly from students about their passions, answering thoughtful questions, and offering tailored advice.
“The students were so curious,” said Kushner, “and not just to explore the world, but also to imagine what their own contributions to it could be.”
Interested in learning more about the International Studies Major at UW–Madison? Stop by the International Studies Major Office in 301 Ingraham Hall, or connect via email or on Instagram.