My name is Frank Polizzi, a dual Italian/American citizen from California. I recently finished my undergraduate degree in International Relations and Spanish Literature. My work has mainly focused on Economic Development and International Financial Institutions through the paradigms of Neo-Marxist and Neo-Liberal theory. In my last year of University, my research on Alternatives to Neo-Liberalism in Latin America was published in our Department's Peer Reviewed Academic Journal. I also completed a lengthy senior thesis, which focused on the perpetuation of Neo-Liberal policies in Middle Income Countries. I studied for one year in Santiago, Chile and worked as a Journalist for a local magazine, covering economic and political issues. My other international experience includes participating in the National Model United Nations conference of 2013, held at the UN headquarters in New York, where I represented Costa Rica and specialized in Combatting the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons. I have also worked in rural development in Central America and Sicily. I look forward to the quantitative and economic analysis that MESCI offers, in order to balance my liberal arts background. After this program I hope to work for a couple years before applying to a PhD program with the intention of becoming a University Professor.