Meet Julia Lasiota, '26

Julia Lasiota arrived at Stanford with a carefully planned roadmap, but her most meaningful experiences came from deviating from that plan. She began as a comparative literature major and went on to earn bachelor's degrees in international relations and history, as well as a co-terminal master's degree in Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies. Throughout her journey, archival research and study abroad experiences in Taiwan and Oxford deepened her interest in history, culture, and politics. This fall, she will return to the Hoover Institution as a Ketterer/Vorwald Post-Baccalaureate Fellow, where she will focus on research full-time.

In the Q&A below, she reflects on the experiences that shaped her time at Stanford, the importance of stepping outside the "bubble," and the unexpected moment that pushed her out of her comfort zone one final time.

What degree programs did you pursue and what drew you to them?

My experience with Stanford Global Studies extended beyond the undergraduate major in international relations into a regionally focused M.A. program. Under the co-term program, I've completed my B.A. in international relations and history as well as an M.A. in Russian, East European and Eurasian studies (REEES). I started out majoring in comparative literature, but the breadth of the IR major pushed me to reconsider that path. In IR, it was easy to focus on classes I found interesting rather than trying to fit into a rigid system of requirements. By declaring IR, I could take classes focused on foreign literature and cultures while also learning about international law, politics, and economics. Having many different disciplinary lenses through which to examine the world was the selling point for me. That interdisciplinary aspect was also an important part of my decision to apply for the REEES M.A. program.

What Stanford experience had the biggest impact on you—and why? 

In the summer of 2025, I took part in the BOSP seminar in Taiwan with faculty mentors Larry Diamond and Kharis Templeman. By that point, I'd been actively involved in research regarding the Pacific region and had started studying Mandarin. Traveling around Taiwan made all of that feel more tangible—our three weeks were filled with guest lectures and field trips. Our guided visits to the National Palace Museum and the Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park stayed with me, as did learning firsthand about Taiwan's history and culture and its economic and political transformation. I came out of the program with even more interest in how contested history shapes present-day politics, and thinking about questions of public memory well beyond Taiwan.

What experiences outside the classroom shaped your Stanford journey?

In my sophomore year, I ended up working as a library assistant at the Hoover Institution Library & Archives. I had the chance to work with amazing archivists and learn more about the primary materials housed right on campus. My enthusiasm for working there eventually led me to realize that I wanted to engage with these sources beyond evaluating and organizing them—this, in some way, pushed me to declare majors in both history and international relations a few months later. Knowing the Library & Archives' collections and cataloging system from the inside was helpful in so many of my classes and enriched my research.

What’s a moment from your time at Stanford that you’ll never forget?

Giving a commencement speech at the international relations diploma ceremony. I'd never been one to enjoy public speaking, let alone imagine myself doing it—so if anyone had told me I'd wrap up my undergraduate career by speaking to a crowd full of parents, faculty, and classmates, I wouldn't have believed them. Stanford really kept pushing me out of my comfort zone until the very end!

What are your plans after graduation?

I will be returning to campus in the fall to work as a Ketterer/Vorwald Post-Baccalaureate Fellow at the Hoover Institution. I am grateful for this opportunity and excited to pursue research full-time.

What advice would you give future students interested in global studies, language study, or international experiences at Stanford?

Studying or interning abroad should be near the top of your to-do list at Stanford. There are countless ways to go about it—with good funding—and at some point you really should leave the bubble and experience living elsewhere. International students stand to gain from this too: more time abroad can broaden an already cross-cultural perspective.

How has your Stanford experience changed the way you see the world?

I sketched out my Stanford roadmap one night in FloMo, and while I've since misplaced that fateful piece of paper, I know for a fact that nothing went according to my four-or-five-year plan. I was so overwhelmed by the endless possibilities in my first year that I felt little desire to leave anything up to chance. Funnily enough, my most memorable and rewarding experiences were all either acts of spontaneity or the result of a sequence of random events. Stanford helped me appreciate that aspect of the world—and of life in general.