Two current students and their alumni parents talk about how, despite changes in the world, the value of an education here doesn’t go away
For two families, the experience of attending the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) has become something like a tradition — passed down from mother to son, father to daughter.
Alex Wong ’26 and Anna Prata Reichmann Tavares ’26 are both the children of GPS graduates: Wong’s mother, Erica Chung, graduated with an international affairs degree in 1994, and Reichmann Tavares’ father, Ricardo, was also at GPS in the 1990s for his doctoral studies.
The journey of the two families, both around the world and through time, illustrates just how global the GPS student body and alumni network is. Wong is from Hong Kong, while Tavares’ father is originally from Brazil.
“Growing up, I heard a lot about GPS and how important the program was to my father,” Reichmann Tavares said. “That definitely played a role in my decision to apply.”
She added that San Diego’s sunny weather didn’t hurt, either.
The two students both happen to be pursuing the Master of International Affairs (MIA) degree on the international management career track; Wong is doing so through the BA/MIA concurrent degree program.
They knew about GPS’s academic rigor from their parents, which is a large part of what caught their interest. But it wasn’t until they stepped foot on campus that they were able to fully appreciate the supportive community that is just as much a feature of the school.
“I’ve met so many amazing people during my time here, and I feel like the GPS community as a whole has so much to offer in terms of personal and professional development,” Wong said. “There are so many perspectives for in-class discussions and social events.”
Reichmann Tavares felt the same way.
“I’ve found a community of such incredibly compassionate, passionate and thoughtful people, who I know will not only achieve great things but also remain lifelong friends,” she said.
A degree that keeps pace with the world
Erica Chung’s career is a testament to how relevant a GPS degree has been, and continues to be. She graduated with a master’s degree; this enabled her to move to Hong Kong, where she started out as a management consultant at Pricewaterhouse. From there, her career eventually led to the De Beers Group Asia Pacific as director of planning and research, and later the global intelligence and planning manager.
A GPS degree was also instrumental for the career of Reichmann Tavares’ father, who now works at Google in the tech company’s government affairs and public policy division.
“My dad’s education at GPS played an integral part in beginning his future in the United States working in the tech policy sphere,” his daughter said.
However, despite pursuing similar degrees and studying the same regions, much has changed in the three decades between when the parents received their diplomas and now.
“My focus as a student in the 1990s was on how to facilitate globalization,” Chung said. “But Alex and his cohort will focus on how to navigate de-globalization, as well as the role of China in the global landscape.”
She added that she has no doubt that the skills Alex and other students will develop at GPS will help them gain valuable insights into how the world works — as well as the potential for how it could work in the future.
