2024 Student Speakers

Aurélie Schmiedlin

Aurélie Schmiedlin, born and raised in Basel, Switzerland, is a student at the Graduate Institute, focusing on human rights and humanitarianism. With a bachelor's degree in International Affairs from the University of St. Gallen, she is committed to reshaping humanitarian aid. Aurélie aims to create humanitarian efforts that promote independence rather than continued reliance. For two years, Aurélie has been part of Social Income, an NGO offering universal basic income in Sierra Leone, advocating for empowering humanitarian support.

Brian Moscioni

Following an undergraduate engineering degree from Villanova University, Brian commissioned as a pilot in the US Navy. He served 5.5 years flying the EA-18G Growler, with carrier landings aboard the USS George H.W. Bush and the USS Nimitz. After military service, Brian worked for Goldman Sachs in their Consumer and Wealth Management division. Currently, he is a student in the Master program for International and Development Studies in the Conflict, Peace and Security track. Brian is enrolled in the dual-degree program at the Institute with the Harvard Kennedy School and will begin his Master of Public Administration in summer 2024.

Claude Hiol

Claude Hiol is a master's candidate in International and Development Studies at the Geneva Graduate Institute. He is interested in how storytelling, whether from the book of Genesis in the bible or Camara Laye's The Black Child, has shaped the world and how marginalised people use it to process trauma and build their identities. Born and raised in Cameroon, he was always too busy listening to London Grammar instead of doing his homework. His work has been published in the Kalahari Review and African Writer Magazine.

Shruti Satish

Hailing from Chicago with South Indian roots from Chennai, Shruti Satish is a first-year IRPS master's student at the Geneva Graduate Institute. She serves as her cohort's class representative and is President of the Peacebuilding Initiative. Shruti enjoys travelling, meeting new people, and exploring diverse cultures worldwide.

A special thank you to our speaker coach Professor Thomas Frankl for helping prepare our speakers for this event.