Franklin Alumni Feature

Aiga Stokenberga '05

How many people have a professional title that requires a full two lines to type? Franklin graduate Aiga Stokenberga ’05 does: Junior Professional Associate in the Economics Unit of the Latin America and the Caribbean Region Sustainable Development Department.

Two and a half years ago Aiga began her job search in Washington, D.C. Her first position was an internship at the World Resources Institute. While working there, she applied for many jobs at the World Bank and, though she often made it to second- or third-tier interviews, she never cinched the job. One day she received a phone call from an alumnus of her graduate school who was working at the World Bank’s Operations Policy Department and, following a brief interview, she was offered a job as a consultant in the Department’s Aid Effectiveness Unit. "It was not that exciting," Aiga said, but she knew this was "her foot in the door."

After three months Aiga applied for an opening in the Latin America Sustainable Development Department, shortly after which she started a consultancy in the Department’s Climate Change Beam, followed a few months later by an offer to transfer to the Economics Unit to work on issues related to the region’s energy and electricity markets, climate change mitigation and sustainable infrastructure. A year later, she was offered a two-year staff position as a "Junior Professional Associate." To her own amusement, she has become the team’s "Caribbean Energy Specialist" as a result of her operational work in the islands of the Eastern Caribbean and Jamaica, where she helped prepare a regional project and traveled to the islands to meet with those countries’ prime ministers and energy and finance ministers. Currently Aiga is working on an infrastructure project in Mexico and this fall hopes to join the World Bank mission to meet with that country’s Minister of Finance and other officials.

Aiga loves that her job is more than a desk job. In the past year, it has taken her to Jamaica, Panama, Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis. She also still travels a fair amount with her parents and sister from whom she is now separated by an ocean.

Aiga on a World Bank Mission in Grenada

Aiga was born and raised in Riga, Latvia. She graduated top of her class from Riga State Gymnasium No. 1, the oldest high school in the Baltic States, fulfilling the requirements for both the national and the International Baccalaureate diploma programs. After finishing the prestigious IB program, she was on the international track and could start college already as a sophomore. She applied to Franklin and several schools in the States and was accepted everywhere, but when it came time to decide, she realized she would feel more comfortable staying closer to home while still getting the experience offered by stateside liberal arts schools, so she chose Franklin.

At first Aiga felt intimidated by Franklin’s open, friendly atmosphere, explaining, "Latvians are more reserved." She found it tough to carve out her niche at Franklin and even kept the door to her room closed the first few weeks. However, things soon changed. During her first year, she lived in the tower and the kitchen at Giardino, describing that residence as "most like a home." Her Giardino roommates from that time are still her best friends. After a few months Aiga decided to major in International Relations, positive that she would continue on to pursue a Master’s degree in that field.

Aiga remembers that she felt most challenged – and therefore most grateful for – the honors tutorials with Professor Schlein and Professor McCormick's literature classes. At first, she found "reading 90 pages of Greek classics a day difficult," but noted, "Professor McCormick brought the subject to life." She completed six Academic Travel programs, visiting  Geneva/Brussels/Paris, Belgrade/Istanbul, Malawi/Zambia, Morocco, Greece, and Cuba. She traveled to Malawi and Zambia a second time after her graduation together with Laura Marsala and a small group of other students. Professor Anne Flutti "made the trips to Africa so special," Aiga said. She recalls sitting out in the bush under Malawi’s starlit sky spending hours in conversations with the Professor and her other travel companions. As many Franklin alumni know, those late night conversations with Professor Flutti are magical.

Though Aiga had many wonderful, life-changing experiences at Franklin, her fondest memories are from her last year: "Laura and I often sat drinking wine on Giardino's balcony, people-watching and reminiscing about the adventures we had during our time at Franklin."

After graduating as the 2005 valedictorian, Aiga was accepted at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies for a two-year Master’s program in International Policy (Energy and Environment) and Quantitative Methods. Even though she was the youngest in her program she never had a hard time keeping up and explained, "I felt very well prepared."  

Aiga now wakes up before dawn to read the morning news and prepare for her day. She arrives first at the office, getting a good chunk of work done before her Latin American colleagues come in. "They like to sleep in but then stay in the office until late hours when it is already way past my bedtime," laughs Aiga. "They are my second family, and we spend most of our free time together, playing volleyball after work, and going dancing and 'brunching' on weekends." She works for another couple of hours from home before retiring. "I like to space the stress throughout the day, with plenty of laughter and good times in between!"

Aiga is so pleased with her life in D.C. that she may never leave the States. While continuing at the World Bank, she has plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Environmental Economics or Urban Planning.

August 2009