When class let out on Thursday, October 21st, fifteen Stern Emerging Markets Association (EMA) members had only one thing on their minds— road trip!

Shuffling our belongings on to a glorified airport van, we blazed a trail down to Washington D.C. You couldn’t have thought of a more diverse bunch— hailing from Argentina, Bosnia, Brazil, England, Florida, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. I, a token Red Sox fan, was thrown in for good measure. After five hours of conversation and a guilty pit stop at Roy Rogers, we finally made it to our alumni happy hour at the Black Rooster, a dive bar near Georgetown (we’re Sternies, what did you expect?). After a round of beers and fried everything, we called it in early ahead of a busy Friday to follow.

D.C. is known as much for cherry blossoms and beltway politics as it is for being the epicenter of global development, financing, economics, and policy. Beyond the red carpet and flashing lights, thanks to EMA president Mark Rimer (‘11), we had our own VIP day in store— private meetings with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), World Bank Group, International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Inter American Development Bank (IADB). After a quick continental breakfast at the Best Western, we were off…

To read more in the Stern Oppy, click here.