Ambitious and high-energy, Kirsten has been a student leader since she arrived at the Nicholas School in fall 2002. She served as president of FOREM for much of her first year, playing a key role in organizing the Halloween and holiday parties, Field Day, and the student banquet while taking courses for her MEM and earning a certificate in International Development Policy from the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy.

Ambitious and high-energy, Kirsten has been a student leader since she arrived at the Nicholas School in fall 2002. She served as president of FOREM for much of her first year, playing a key role in organizing the Halloween and holiday parties, Field Day, and the student banquet while taking courses for her MEM and earning a certificate in International Development Policy from the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy.

Kirsten is resourceful. The summer internship she was offered with the U.N. in Bonn, Germany was unpaid. No problem. She worked with the Nicholas School’s Career Services office to secure funding. She needed to be in Germany three weeks before the spring semester ended. No problem. Kirsten worked with her professors to wind up coursework, papers, and exams in time to get her on the plane.

Her discipline comes in part from being on the University of California at Irvine's Division 1 women's basketball team as an undergraduate. Graduating with honors while maintaining a schedule that included four hours of training daily prepared her for the intense nature of the two-year Nicholas School program.

Before coming to Duke, Kirsten worked for the Pew Center on Global Change near Washington, D.C. Moving across country from her structured undergraduate and away from her familiar network environment gave Kirsten a sense of exhilaration. But she soon realized that she would need to return to school in order to get out of the entry-level rut.

She is crystal clear about her goals. While finishing her Master’s Project on the factors that influence country ratification of international treaties, Kirsten will be preparing for the Foreign Service exam. Her internship in Bonn and a later experience working with negotiators of the climate change treaty in Milan exposed her to the world of international treaty negotiations, and now Kirsten plans eventually to be the head U.S. negotiator for international environmental treaties.

Kirsten has no set time frame for achieving this goal. She says, “It’s not about the power, it’s about making a difference. I want to take whatever time is needed to be fully prepared when I step into that role.”

Getting into the Foreign Service is a lengthy process involving two exams and security clearances, so in the meantime, Kirsten hopes to work on Capitol Hill in a committee that will help her earn additional international relations experience. Or, she’ll look into think tanks that specialize in foreign relations. “I have a bed, I have a car,” Kirsten says. “Where can I go? Send me anywhere.”

Update 2005 -

In addition to beginning a new job with the Environmental Protection Agency, Kirsten has found time to be an “EnvironMentor” to a middle school student, to take up Tai Chi, and to take a class—Foreign Policy in the Age of Terrorism—at the National Defense University and. At EPA, she works with the domestic implementation of the Montreal Protocol (i.e., the Clean Air Act). Her office regulates the import, export, and production of ozone-depleting substances, ensuring that U.S. companies are in compliance with allowances issued by the government.
Kirsten still has the Foreign Service in her game plan, but “I want to become an expert in one area and then I’ll have something to offer. And I want to learn how the system works first.” In the meantime, she is happy at the EPA: “I’m really excited about being here. . . . I studied the Clean Air Act in school and now I’m working on it. Sometimes I remind myself, this is not school—it’s real life. I’m really making these decisions.”

Hindsight -

Kirsten reports that with her MEM degree from the Nicholas School, “I am fully well equipped to take on what I did [at the EPA]. I had all the tools I needed.” She advises current students to be patient and flexible in a job search but to be confident that they have the analysis tools they need for a job like hers. “Those memos I wrote at 2 a.m. at the Nicholas School—they helped prepare me for this.”

To view the video, choose from the formats listed after each caption:

1. Kirsten Cappel talks about her route from college basketball to climate change policy.
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2. She was attracted to “the breadth and wealth of courses” the Nicholas School offers.
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3. It’s easy to take classes in the other Duke departments and schools as well, she says.
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4. Kirsten appreciates that the school allows her to take an interdisciplinary approach to environmental problems.
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5. She was impressed with the faculty's accomplishments as well as their accessibility.
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6. She describes her internship plans in Bonn, Germany.
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7. She talks about the atmosphere at the Nicholas School.
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8. Kirsten says that being active in student groups has really added to her experience.
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9. She calls a typical day at the Nicholas School “a great time.”
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