MALAS Student Profile: Roxanne Blair

November 4, 2013

2013-2014 shows the MALAS program with a strong and diverse array of students. Among these students is Roxanne Blair (MALAS '14), whose concentrations are International Business and Community and Regional Planning. As a student deeply invested in her community, Roxanne has taken part in numerous initiatives while at the University of New Mexico.

During her time as a political science and Spanish major at the University of Notre Dame, Roxanne spent a semester abroad in Chile and was able to return to her host country for her senior thesis research on gender and the political career of Chile's first female president, Michelle Bachelet. Shortly after graduating, Roxanne spent a summer working in Cuenca, Ecuador, with Social Entrepreneur Corps - an organization that seeks to promote socioeconomic development by providing business tools to local entrepreneurs throughout Latin America.

After returning to the United States, Roxanne served as a Project Manager for the Community Economics Laboratory in Albuquerque, an organization which puts new methods of economic development to work for the local economy. Roxanne is now pursuing her master's in Latin American Studies with concentrations in International Business and Community and Regional Planning.

Through the program, student organizations, and various internship opportunities, Roxanne continues to be heavily involved in both business and Latin American Studies. She is the Board Chair and Project Manager of International Business Students Global (IBSG), a student organization which seeks to provide academic and professional opportunities for its members and serve the larger community by providing consulting services to the public and private sector on issues of global and international business. As an IBSG leader, Roxanne facilitated the creation of a partnership with Social Entrepreneurs Corp, the company with which she interned in Ecuador. IBSG now sends student-interns to Latin America annually. Additionally, as the Development Assistant for the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Management, Roxanne organized and marketed various events to support the School's function and advancement. She has also provided consulting and marketing services to local businesses such as the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In addition to Spanish, Roxanne is currently studying Portuguese. Roxanne was recently awarded a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship by the Latin American & Iberian Institute, which funded a six-week intensive Portuguese language and Brazilian culture program in São Paulo, Brazil.

Now in her final year of study, Roxanne hopes to apply her business and language skills along with her experience in Latin America towards a career in socially responsible development.