Julie Gilstrap, '01, a policy advisor for the Association of Scotland's Colleges, points to the relationships and studyabroad experiences she gained as a Whitworth student as the inspiration for her involvement in international politics.
"At Whitworth, I learned to think critically and to ask the right questions," Gilstrap says. "I learned to take seriously the impact that my faith had on my approach to politics, and I improved my writing skills. But I think that the most important thing I learned was how to deal with people. Ultimately, what you know is not nearly as important as your relationships, both personal and professional."
The Association of Scotland's Colleges is the representative body for the country's publicly funded colleges. Gilstrap builds up the organization's lobbying base, works with the Scottish government to improve policy and funding related to colleges, and forges links between the college and business sectors.
Gilstrap graduated from Whitworth with a major in international political economy and then earned her master's degree in politics from the University of Edinburgh, in 2002. She has also been a researcher in enterprise, finance and transport as well as a campaigner for the Conservative Party in the Scottish Parliament.
While a student at Whitworth, Gilstrap participated in study-abroad programs including Core 250 in Europe, Political Economy of the Baltic States, and Asian Philosophy.
"The programs exposed me to different cultures and ideas," Gilstrap says. "They widened my horizons significantly and helped me to put my academic pursuits into a real context."
Whitworth professors also encouraged Gilstrap to participate in a summer program that combined courses in British politics and public policy at the London School of Economics with an internship with a member of parliament. That experience led her to graduate school in Scotland.
Now, Gilstrap says, she pursues the two activities most important to her outside her everyday workplace: working with college students at her church, and bringing together faith and mainstream politics in the United Kingdom.
"I think that both of these priorities are rooted in my time at Whitworth," Gilstrap says. "Leading small groups led me to my current work with students. Academic courses that challenged me to think seriously about how my faith influenced all other areas of life led me to the conclusion that my faith must have something to say about politics, too."
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