Riley Novak, a final-year student specializing in global studies and Spanish within the Arts & Sciences at WashU, has been honored with the Hillary Rodham Clinton Award for Peace and Reconciliation at Queen’s University Belfast. This accolade grants a complete tuition scholarship to a single woman from the United States annually.

With plans to pursue a master’s degree in global security and borders, Novak intends to expand upon her undergraduate thesis, which offers a comparative analysis of conflict-related violence against women along the border separating the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland during the Troubles, as well as along the United States-Mexico border in the 1990s.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to study in Northern Ireland, where the faculty and researchers at Queen’s University Belfast are profoundly committed to fostering peace, particularly emphasizing the significance of women’s narratives,” Novak expressed.

At WashU, Novak has been serving as an intern at the university’s Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration since January 2023, where she has contributed to the revision team for the International Criminal Court’s Gender-Based Violence and Children’s Policy Papers and conducted research on gender-based violence and human rights. She is also the president of Legacies for Immigrants and Refugees, during which she conducts weekly citizenship classes at the International Institute of St. Louis.

“In Riley, one finds a keen intellect, humble self-assurance, professionalism beyond her youthful years, and a warmth and generosity of spirit,” noted Amy Heath-Carpentier, a lecturer in global studies and Novak’s thesis adviser, in her recommendation letter.

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