Alyssa Pooler ’19, Selected for the Inter-Policy School Summit, University of Chicago

Alyssa Pooler ’19 was one of thirty students, and the only law student from the United States, selected for the Inter-Policy School Summit at the University of Chicago.

The Inter-Policy School Summit is a conference conceived and run entirely by students from sixteen universities in five countries. Together, the students explore innovative strategies to address the interrelated issues of cybersecurity and trade. As the only American law student in the program, Pooler was amongst international students from Australia, Turkey, India and Brazil.

“I was so inspired by collaborating with them,” Pooler said. “We come from very diverse backgrounds and were able to use our own experience and interpretation of the law to work through the project.”

In the program, students were challenged to look at the international legal framework of economic instruments and institutions to examine the implementation of cybersecurity protocols. Pooler was given the opportunity to represent her team during a presentation to the Summit, which included the Director of Cybersecurity Initiative at New America, a U.S. think tank focusing on a range of public policy issues.

Pooler credits her undergrad background in International Relations for providing the foundation necessary and her Villanova Law education for giving her the analytical skills to think critically.

“A lot of my analytical and presentation skills I gained from Villanova Law,” Pooler explained. “Studying international legal norms from a liberal arts undergraduate perspective is very different from a legal perspective in law school. I think the combination of the two helped me greatly while collaborating with my group and in solving problems.”

As for the experience as a whole, Pooler is glad she took the chance to apply and got to know like-minded students from across the globe while challenging herself.

“This is one of the best experiences I have had in law school,” Pooler said. “I was nervous about being able to keep up with everyone else on the Summit. But, I knew I had been selected and had the skills necessary for a successful and rewarding experience.”