For Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) alumnus Flurim Aliu, traveling is a big part of his job. He flies from his home in Switzerland to countries around the world.
Since graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science from GGC in 2017, he has forged a distinguished career as a political economist, working as a consultant and research analyst for the World Bank. He is also a visiting researcher for the International Monetary Fund and has worked for the German Development Institute. He’s currently a Fellow at Switzerland's Council on Economic Policies, and he regularly publishes on economic policy.
“I meet so many different government officials from around the world who are all trying to help their countries, and we help them design better economic policies,” said Aliu. “I also get to travel a lot, which is nice. I’ve worked in finance ministries in countries like Ireland and Italy, which are relatively close to my home base in Switzerland, and to faraway places like Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, the Philippines, and Nepal.”
The journey to becoming a student at GGC started in his hometown of Mushtisht, Southern Kosovo.
“To be completely honest, it was a little bit random,” explained Aliu from his home in Zurich, Switzerland. “There was this Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in our municipality called Kosovo Hope, which was partnering with Grace Church in Snellville to organize student exchanges. American students would come to Kosovo over the summer and the Kosovar students would go to the U.S. on exchange. I was in one of the first groups to go to the U.S. on exchange.”
Initially, Aliu thought he would apply to a university in Austria since he speaks German and had volunteered with the Austrian NGO, but the opportunity to live in the U.S. and study at GGC changed his plan.
Aliu majored in political science at GGC, but an elective class in economics captivated his imagination.
“I just thought economics is this fascinating way of understanding how the world really works and what drives societies,” he says. “I also dreamed of taking back the lessons from both PoliSci and economics to my country one day and trying to help it develop further. I think studying PoliSci and economics is a really good combination because many economic decisions (at the macro level, where I focus) are made using political rationale instead of strict economic rationale.”
Aliu said his favorite memories of GGC revolved around his time in the International Student Association.
“I got to meet so many people (at GGC) from so many places, and it opened my eyes to how similar we actually all are!” he said.
Aliu says he would encourage current and future GGC students interested in economics as a career to go for it.
“We have outstanding professors at GGC, and economists are desperately needed in the private and public sectors alike, so there will always be demand,” he said.
Aliu still plans to take the lessons he’s learned back to Kosovo one day. In the meantime, he plans to continue building his career while enjoying his home life in Zurich.