This summer, Emma Niewald (MGPS ’26) is putting her global policy training into action over 6,000 miles from Austin, while interning in Skopje, North Macedonia.
Through the Texas Global Embedded Scholars program in the Balkans, she is working with the National Democratic Institute’s (NDI) Parliamentary Support Program (PSP), a long-standing initiative focused on enhancing the efficiency of North Macedonia’s legislature and strengthening public trust in democratic institutions.
Her day-to-day work involves attending meetings at the Assembly with Members of Parliament, NGOs and policy experts and contributing to public outreach and research efforts. One standout experience was traveling to Tetovo, where she helped facilitate conversations between elected officials and local constituents.
“It has been fascinating to discover a new system of government and to learn about the work of so many incredible individuals and organizations.”
Niewald also joined fellow Embedded Scholars on a trip to Kosovo, where the group met with the Constitutional Court, the Office of the Ombudsperson and the Kosovo Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims, an organization nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
Niewald credits several LBJ faculty members for supporting her application, including Dr. Lorinc Redei and Dr. Alexandra Sukalo for their recommendations. Her work was also supported through funding from Texas Global, CREEES, the RGK Center and the LBJ School.
Through the LBJ School’s flexible, interdisciplinary approach, Niewald explored her interests in security and governance by taking specialized classes across campus that aligned with her career goals. Her coursework has been directly relevant to her work this summer. She specifically credits Constitutional Development in the Balkans and East European Security for preparing her to understand the regional political landscape better and contribute meaningfully to her internship.
Living and working in a new country has come with its share of challenges, particularly language. While the working language at NDI is English, many meetings, documents and conversations with constituents occur in Macedonian or Albanian. This created some initial barriers to accessing materials and conducting interviews. Niewald credits the NDI team and skilled translators for helping bridge those gaps and ensuring that she and her colleagues could fully engage in the work. By staying adaptable and collaborative, Niewald has contributed meaningfully despite the language differences.
The experience has also helped her clarify her future. Entering graduate school with interests in security and governance, she feels drawn to a career focused on the rule of law in the Balkans or similar regions.
“I enjoyed this internship so much — it feels like such a great combination of my previous experience working in politics and my academic interests in international relations and Balkan history... It has reaffirmed my focus on the Balkans as a region and has made me more likely to pursue a career in rule of law,” she said.
As Niewald returns to LBJ this fall, she brings with her new insights, global experience and a deepened commitment to using policy to support democratic systems and strengthen governance worldwide.
Learn more about our Master of Global Policy Studies. Applications open September 1.