College of Charleston Alumna Melissa Siegel ’03 is returning from the Netherlands to share her global research with the Charleston community. Siegel will present “Global Migration and Development” on February 14, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. in room 129 of the School of Sciences and Mathematics Building (corner of Calhoun and Coming Streets). The event is free and open to the public.

Siegel graduated from the Honors College with a Bachelor’s degree in economics. She is now an assistant professor and the migration studies program manager at the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance in the Netherlands.  She also works at the United Nations – MERIT where she heads to Migration research group, manages several migration research projects and coordinates the migration studies specialization. Siegel has done field research across the globe in Ethiopia, Burundi, Afghanistan, Moldova, Georgia, Morocco, and Suriname.

“Having distinguished Honors College graduates come back to campus helps current students see the opportunities that await them,” says Chris Bailey, event coordinator. “In addition to Melissa’s accomplishments in academia, she has also worked with organizations like the United Nations and Oxfam. We hope that our students will not only engage with the topics discussed during the presentation, but will also be inspired by what awaits them after graduation.”

This event is sponsored by the Honors College and the William Aiken Fellows Society.

The William Aiken Fellows Society is a group of highly capable students who have the potential for success in the pursuit of national and international opportunities reserved for top scholars. Throughout their college careers, William Aiken Fellows work closely with the Dean and Associate Dean of the Honors College and with the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards to develop an academic and professional portfolio to position themselves to be strong candidates as they apply for prestigious awards.