By: Alissa Indeck
Fiona Captan is a Gender and Global Security Program Assistant at WIIS. As a first generation
American and university student, Fiona is proudly pursuing her B.A. in International Relations at
Boston University (BU) with a minor in European Studies.
Fiona’s passion for international affairs stems from her experiences traveling and living abroad
and her love of language. While Fiona has traveled all over Europe, the Middle East, and Asia,
she also lived in Austria for four years and Dubai for six years before moving to Los Angeles,
California. Fiona is fluent in German and English, and has strong proficiencies in Arabic,
Spanish, and French.
At Boston University, she is involved in several organizations. Fiona is a member of the Delta
Phi Epsilon Foreign Service and International Business Fraternity, a society that fosters a
community of professionals to become future world leaders that advocate for justice and peace.
Fiona is also the senior editor for the Europe region at the International Relations Review, BU’s
premiere academic journal that focuses on current news in international relations. In addition,
Fiona is also a writer for Migration Tales, a non-profit aimed to amplify migrant voices. She is
also conducting BU-funded research on the Nevada Nuclear Testing Site as part of the
Frederick S. Pardee School’s Global Decolonization Initiative.
After she graduates from Boston University, she wants to return to Europe for her master’s in
international security or war studies. She hopes to utilize her linguistic skills and continue to
travel as she studies to become either a foreign service officer or an intelligence analyst.
At WIIS, Fiona is currently working on several different projects. She is working on planning
events for the member engagement and professional development series, compiling interviews
for the Combat Integration Initiative with WIIS fellow, Zi, and conducting membership survey
research.
Outside of school, Fiona travels around the United States and Canada for competitive freeride
skiing. After she moved to Los Angeles, she spent many weekends traveling to Vancouver for
skiing competitions during the school year, which inspired her to want to continue a work and
travel balance for her future career. One of her favorite travel memories was going to New
Zealand for the National Geographic Student Expedition where she traveled throughout the
South Island and filmed her experience to create a final presentation of her adventures for the
NatGeo Experts. Currently, Fiona enjoys watching British television like Peaky Blinders, the
Hercule Poirot series, Downton Abbey, and Collateral with her 14-year-old Yorkie, Lucky, who
was born in the Czech Republic and traveled to Dubai, Oman, Canada, and the US!