Alisha Holland

Alisha Holland "is a senior from Amherst, Massachusetts. She is a Woodrow Wilson School major pursuing a certificate in Latin American Studies. Her senior thesis looks at the challenge gang violence poses to building the rule of law in El Salvador. More broadly, she is interested in issues of human rights, judicial reform, and development in Latin America. At Princeton, she works with several Princeton Justice Project groups, including Princeton Against Protectionism and Pa'delante, and heads the Latin American Studies Student Organization. Upon graduation, she plans to work for a non-governmental organization in Latin America before returning to the United States to pursue a JD/PhD in political science and international human rights law."

"Holland, who is from Amherst, Mass., is majoring in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and pursuing a certificate in Latin American studies. She has excelled in her studies and has earned glowing tributes from her professors.

"Alisha is an extraordinary student," said Deborah Yashar, associate professor of politics and international affairs and director of the Program in Latin American Studies. "I have been watching her career since she was a freshman and have been continually impressed and amazed by her intellectual curiosity, resourcefulness, sophistication and insight. ... She identifies excellent questions, devours rich and expansive literatures (with an amazing attention to both theoretical and empirical research), and proposes original and compelling arguments."

"Holland is writing her senior thesis on the political and legal responses of Central American nations to rampant gang-related violence. She has traveled to El Salvador and Guatemala to conduct fieldwork. She also has conducted research on campaign finance in Chile on a Paul Sigmund Grant. She intends to return to Latin America after graduation.

"Merging her academic and extracurricular interests, Holland co-founded the Latin American Studies Student Organization in 2004 and has served as its president for the past two years. She also helped start Princeton Against Protectionism, a group dedicated to promoting freer trade in food."