Student Leadership Award
This award is given annually in recognition of exceptional service by a Sigma Iota Rho member to his / her chapter, by making an indelible contribution to its establishment, activity, and general commitment to promoting engagement with international affairs beyond and within the academy.
2019
Amela Orlovic
Alpha Iota: The George Washington University
Amela’s exceptional stewardship during her undergraduate academic career at The George Washington University, Alpha Iota chapter, has facilitated the success of their chapter’s future leadership. She was born in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina and moved to Atlanta, GA with her parents after the war ended in the Balkans. Looking back, she now realizes that she was truly destined to pursue international studies. She immersed herself in French and Spanish while maintaining her mother’s tongue, Bosnian, at home. At University, she started taking German and was able to study abroad in Vienna, Austria to further her language skills. Her love for international affairs intensified at the Elliott School for International Affairs at The George Washington University when she found her home away from home with Sigma Iota Rho. International Affairs is a broad umbrella for so many topics, subjects and regions- all of which she desperately wanted to learn about, but sadly couldn't given that she couldn't take 20 classes in any given semester. That's where SIR helped her. She learned about Bahrain, the Euro Crisis, U.S. energy investments in Ghana, and so much more thanks to the discussions that she was able to have with the members of the Alpha Iota Chapter of Sigma Iota Rho. She learned so much from her fellow SIR members, whether they were older or younger than her, and throughout her years, she acquired lasting bonds with each and every one of them. They all had different personalities, interests, and even passions within international studies, but at the end of the day, it is this love for international affairs that united them as members of Sigma Iota Rho. She expressed that she wouldn't be half the person she is today without this organization, and that she’s thankful to have been a part of this lasting legacy.
Stephen Strenges