Karina Kloos (USA), M.A., class of 2006

Karina Kloos entered Stanford University in the fall 2009 to do a Ph.D. in Sociology.

Karina spent six months, prior to starting her doctoral studies, volunteering in Cambodia with PEPY, an educational NGO and social venture.

Karina recounts: "I was primarily  involved in supporting PEPY's educational and volunteer tours, mostly with volunteers from Dubai coming to help in the construction of three new primary schools in a rural commune of Siem Reap Province. PEPY also leads cycling tours throughout Cambodia, visiting with and learning from partner organizations along the way.

My first-hand experience with these trips contributed to my research on responsible volunteer tourism, an increasingly popular way to travel and, for better or worse, a progressively more accessible approach to development work and educational opportunities.

During my years at AGS, I distinctly remember talking about the "increasing role of non-state actors". As a country with one the highest NGO density rates in the world, Cambodia was a fascinating place to learn about development work.

I experienced incredible insights during my time there about how NGOs are contributing to the reconstruction of the country, devastated by the Khmer Rouge thirty years ago, and how social ventures are helping to improve accountability and decrease dependency on aid and donations."

In the fall, Karina entered Stanford's Ph.D. program in Sociology, focusing on social movements and organizational studies, specifically related to international development organizations, applying her experiences  with PEPY and the dozens of NGOs and social ventures she interacted with in Cambodia, Africa and the US as well as her international relations studies here at AGS.