Boren Scholarship

Courtney Rooyakkers is an undergraduate student at Loyola University Chicago, in her senior year and majoring in environmental policy, global studies (with an emphasis on Southeast Asia), and Spanish. In 2019, she was awarded a Boren Scholarship to study in Indonesia. While in Indonesia, she studied Bahasa Indonesia, sustainable development and environmental issues, culture, politics and policy, trade and economics, and U.S.-Indonesia diplomatic relations. In addition to being a full-time student, Courtney also interned with U.S. Embassy Jakarta focusing on human rights and the environment and worked as an advanced English as a Second Language (ESL) and skills teacher for Afghan refugees in Indonesia.

Previously, Courtney worked as a research and policy intern for the U.S.-Association of Southeast Asian Nations Business Council (US-ABC). During her time at US-ABC, she supported the sustainability, energy, and Indonesia committees. Her role consisted of producing industry intelligence and policy reports, and a weekly sustainability news digest which was distributed to US-ABC member companies.

In the future, Courtney hopes to work at the International Organization for Migration or United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees with a focus on generating human rights policies and documenting stories with a particular focus on climate refugees and environmental migrants in Indonesia and other nations in Southeast Asia.