Abigail Miligan

Abigail Milligan previously attended Louisiana State University for her undergraduate degree, where she majored in Political Science, Spanish, and International Studies with a minor in Psychology. She served as vice-president of the student body, spending part of her time advocating for sexual and domestic violence issues alongside changing school policies and state laws surrounding the issue.

Following graduation, Abigail went straight to the Master in International Relations at IE University, having completed internships with state and federal senators, both from Louisiana, and with lawyers from across the state. This did, however, represent a change from her initial plan to attend law school because she wanted more time to study international relations. Since she plans to practice international law in future, she knew a degree in international relations would be ideal preparation for her professional path. She also wanted to study in Spain, but had been unable to do so because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So when the opportunity finally came, it initially didn’t matter to her where she studied, as long as it provided the opportunity to live abroad. However, the more she researched IE University, the more her mind was made up.

Asked about the highlight of her IE University experience so far, Abigail cites the structure of the classes and the group work involved in her studies. They provide a very different academic experience to what she was previously used to. It was an adjustment, but she states that the professors provide such a high level of knowledge on the topics they teach that it would be hard not to be fully immersed in the courses. 

Another highlight is her classmates. Abigail admits she was terrified about moving across the world without knowing anyone, and she was initially concerned that her classmates would already have friends or make the environment competitive. However, the actual experience has been the opposite. The entire cohort bonded on the first day of orientation, and everyone has been so welcoming. Instead of an overly competitive environment, she finds that she has been surrounded by people she is proud to call her friends.

Abigail says her favorite course would have to be International Relations Theory & Strategy. She has a strong background in international relations theory, but the way her professor teaches the course makes her feel like she’s learning it in a new form that’s much more applicable to the real world. She enjoys looking at the dynamics of international politics, especially in terms of war and conflict, and believes that this course has provided exactly that. Indeed, this is the course that determined her decision on which track to pursue for the rest of the program.

“I was terrified moving across the world without knowing a single person here, and I was scared that my classmates would already have friends or make the environment competitive. It has been the complete opposite of that.”

Outside of academia, there are plenty of aspects of living in Spain that Abigail loves about living in Spain. The city of Madrid blew away any prior expectations she had; for such a large city, she finds it “incredibly walkable, super green, almost always sunny and very clean.” She says there are always things to do, and so much life around every street corner. For Abigail, Madrid is a city you choose to live in, not just travel to.

So how would she sum up her experience so far? “More than I could have imagined,” she says firmly. She has acquired a vast amount of knowledge in such a short amount of time, and made fantastic connections with colleagues from her class and other master's programs. Abigail believes that the opportunities for success at IE University are endless, and she can’t wait to take advantage of everything the school has to offer.