DAVID SANCHEZ
2014-15 Traveling Fellow
The Peace-Conflict Continuum: Investigating the Origins of Conflict and Identifying Best Practices for Promoting Harmony
Exploring the origins of conflict and best practices for promoting peace in multicultural and multi-religious communities.
Blog: The Peace-Conflict Continuum: Investigating the Origins of Conflict and Identifying Best Practices for Promoting Harmony
Hometown: Racine, WI
Major: Political Science
At Vanderbilt, David was a Head Resident Advisor and Ingram Scholar. He started Vanderbilt’s Last Lecture Series: a series of speaker sessions featuring Vanderbilt faculty to address graduating students for the last time. He was also selected to represent the university at the West Point International Leadership Conference in 2012.
David discovered an interest in conflict resolution in courses studied during a semester abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark, and study trips to Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Germany.
“The Keegan fellowship broadened my perspective tremendously. It gave context to the theories of government and community building that I had only read about in school. In the immediate aftermath of the fellowship, I sought to round out this experience with a job in business strategy (aka sales) at a large tech firm. Eventually, I found my way back to the classroom at Harvard Law School. I believe those three life experiences –– Keegan (international), Google (business), and HLS (law) –– will form the foundation on which the rest of my career will sit. Keegan opened doors I never would have imagined.”
— David Sanchez, 2014-15
TRAVEL STORY
I was in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank in the summer of 2014 when Israel and Palestine brokered a ceasefire to end an armed conflict that had been raging on for several months. I had just spent two weeks traversing Israel, speaking with locals about the conflict, the occupation, and the walls continually being erected to demarcate the two countries. In Ramallah, I stayed with a Couchsurfer named Mo. He took me around town during the day and introduced me to business owners, friends, and strangers whom I interviewed about life under siege, loss of connection to Israel, and hope for the future. For dinner, Mo and I feasted on the best shawarma I've ever tasted. Then came the noise. It wasn't unusual to hear the sound of exploding bombs and gunfire in the distance. But these booms were different. And they were close. Mo and I ventured to the apartment balcony which had a stunning view of Ramallah to find a city alive, thousands of people flooding into the streets, playing music, honking horns, and launching fireworks. The news of a ceasefire had arrived. Tonight, we celebrate peace.
ITINERARY
England
Northern Ireland
Ireland
Bosnia
Israel
Palestine
Nepal
Cambodia
Singapore
New Zealand
Australia
South Africa
Zambia
Uganda
Rwanda
Mauritius
Chile
Colombia