Hamilton College Posse Scholar Ryan Franquiz.
Hamilton College Posse Scholar Ryan Franquiz.

Hamilton Scholar Explores Latin American Politics

Winter 2018 | Miami

As a senior at Hamilton College, Scholar Ryan Franquiz spent his final fall semester participating in the school’s Washington, D.C., Program. Over the course of the term, Ryan lived in D.C. and worked at the Center for Democracy in the Americas (CDA).

"It’s a new and modest start-up that works on normalizing the relationship between the United States and Cuba," Ryan says.

As a Cuban-American, Ryan was particularly drawn to interning at the CDA because of his personal connection to the community it serves.

At Hamilton, Ryan was previously honored to receive a 2016 Levitt Summer Research Fellowship, which gave him the opportunity to study Latin American political and economic history last year. During the fellowship, Ryan spent a summer on campus as part of a research group, working with a faculty advisor to examine whether the "Pink Tide" in Latin America—or turn to leftist ideologies—might be ebbing.

Beyond his current internship, Ryan has gathered valuable work experience at Alianza Por la Solidaridad, an organization in Madrid that focuses on women’s rights, local sustainable development and humanitarian action.

Ryan has declared a major in world politics at Hamilton, with a focus in Latin American relations.