Raleigh Kreis of the 2024 cohort has found an interest in European affairs. 

She became president of Tulane’s chapter of European Horizons, a global student-led policy incubator focused on transatlantic relations and European political affairs. Because of her involvement with the organization, the European Horizons international network invited her to attend the North American Summit at Yale in April. The summit provides students with the opportunity for community building, student-led debate and discussion, and career development opportunities.

Raleigh says, “The European Horizons North American Summit exceeded my expectations. I met ambitious peers from Ukraine, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Hungary, and Georgia. It was exciting to be one of the only U.S. citizens in the room, listen to many different perspectives, and figure out where my voice fit into the mix. Interacting in a multicultural environment and grappling with interdisciplinary global issues, I could already see the inherent value of my education in the Altman Program. “

Raleigh wanted to explore European affairs further, so she enrolled in the WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management Bachelor European Summer Program in Vallendar, Germany. The program centers around a three-week course entitled The Business, Political, and Cultural Environment in Europe. Students attend a different module each day presented by WHU faculty and visit international companies and financial institutions.

“I decided to participate because I thought it would build on my interdisciplinary interest in political economy, business, and global culture," she says. "After working with European affairs and public policy through European Horizons, I was excited to have the opportunity to examine them more in an academic setting at one of the best business schools in Europe.”

Raleigh is seizing every opportunity that comes her way while in Europe. Prior to the start of the program, she explored Berlin (and met up with Altman alum Bianca Pelletti, who lives in Berlin) and Frankfurt, and she plans to backpack in Europe after the program ends.

“I have loved getting to meet random people in the places I’m staying, be it striking up a conversation with Brazilian tourists I met on a walking tour, playing poker with a group of Irish students in the hostel lobby, or dancing salsa with a traveler from Merida, Mexico after reminiscing about my cohort's trip last summer… Overall, I am profoundly grateful for the chance to just exist in this crazy, beautiful world and learn as much as I can. I can't really believe this is the life I get to lead.”

Raleigh is a recipient of the Altman Program Scholarly Engagement Grant. She will spend her junior year studying abroad in Chile and Brazil.