I first met Zak in German class this past September. He’s the cool kid in our class of twenty because when he tells a joke, everyone actually laughs. He’s also charismatic, meaning our instructor also finds him hilarious. He’s a super funny guy, knows a lot about a lot, and will probably make you feel inadequate at some point or another.
What are you majoring in and what brought you to decide on that major?
I’m currently doing political science, hoping to apply to the IR program soon. I’ve always been interested in politics and global affairs and the like, so majoring in these areas made sense.
What are your long term plans career-wise?
My long term career plans are still a bit hazy, but ideally I want to get involved with the Foreign Ministry or an international organisation like NATO or the UN. Anything involving the international political arena would be perfect.
In ten years, where do you hope to see yourself? What sort of life do you want to be living?
Ten years? Well, I suppose I’d love to be working in a job like I mentioned above. Have enough money to be able to travel and live well, and ideally have a partner to do it all with. I want to make a difference in the world through a career in IR, so hopefully in ten years time I will have at least started down the path to that.
That is so cool! Is there a particular area that you hope to catalyze change?
Difficult to say right now. One of my particular areas of interest is in Arctic Sovereignty, so I suppose being able to help solve the problems springing up in that field would be fantastic. There are major potential issues that could be just over the horizon, and I would be thrilled to be involved with sorting them out.
Can you tell us more about Arctic Sovereignty?
Well, as you know, the islands of northern Canada are well within the Arctic Circle. Canada is one of 6 countries with territory inside that circle. As sea ice melts and more and more of the Arctic Ocean opens up to shipping and resource exploitation, those 6 countries are going to have to figure out how to safely and cooperatively deal with this new bounty. So Arctic Sovereignty essentially deals with how the Arctic states will interact going forwards.
Wow! Very interesting. So, on a very separate note, what has been your favourite course so far?
My favourite course so far is probably European Integration.
What clubs are you part of?
None at the moment. I’ve been so busy getting into the groove of university again I’ve sorta spaced on that.
What are you listening to at the moment?
Right this instant? King by Years & Years.
You took some time off after high school to travel – where did you go? What did you do? Tell me everything.
I went all over! I started in the UK, and then France, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Latvia. As for what I did? Mostly sightseeing and socialising with people I met in the hostels. I made some really amazing friends over there, and I’m still friends with most of them now.
That’s incredible. Do you have a favourite place that you visited?
That’s a difficult one! If I had to choose, I’d say either London or Tallinn (the capital of Estonia). London because it’s just such an incredibly vibrant and exciting city, and because I’ve know my friends from there the longest. Tallinn is a much smaller city, but it still had a great vibe to it. The people were lovely, the city was fun to walk around and socialise in, and it just felt very welcoming and homey.