Nitya Labh ’22

A self-described artist and internationalist, Nitya Labh created murals for the United Nations and served as a non-governmental delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women before coming to William & Mary. She turned down a scholarship at a prestigious arts institute to study international relations at the Alma Mater of the Nation.

On campus, Nitya served as a teaching assistant for three courses, using her artistic talents to create thought maps to explain complex concepts. She worked as a researcher for W&M’s Global Research Institute and the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and she also served as an advisor to the dean of Arts & Sciences.

As a senior, Nitya was one of 12 students in the United States to be named a James C. Gaither Junior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP), a Washington, D.C. foreign policy think tank. In December 2023, she was named a Schwarzman Scholar, one of the premiere graduate fellowships in the world. The scholarship provides one year of funding for graduate study in global affairs at Schwarzman College of Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Nitya currently works as a research associate with Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC, an international strategic consulting firm run by W&M Chancellor Robert M. Gates ’65, L.H.D. ’98. She is also a research assistant for the South Asia Program and for the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the CEIP. She says, “I am moved by my passion for internationalism, and I’m going to use the tools at my disposal to help promote a better world if I can.”

Learn more about Nitya's research

• Read her article on the legal threats of climate change on small island states.
• See her report on the Indian Ocean's importance to global trade, geopolitical competition and maritime security.
• Check out her essays for the Carnegie South Asia Program.