November 2022

Furman University will send four students to join the APEC Thailand Summit 2022 as the youth delegation from the United States. This year’s APEC Summit and all lead-in programs and meetings will be held in Thailand, with the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week beginning on November 14. As host, Thailand has established this year’s summit motto: “Open. Connect. Balance.” Selected Furman students engage with their peers around the globe, share their ideas on one of the themes of this year’s APEC summit, contribute to the summit through interactions, questions and comments for the speakers, and work collaboratively on the Youth Declaration. Dr. Cleve Fraser and Dr. Kelsey Hample will serve as the delegates’ faculty support during the sessions.

OVERVIEW OF APEC 2022

Thailand’s theme for APEC 2022 is to make APEC OPEN to all opportunities, CONNECT in all dimensions, and BALANCE in all aspects. “As we believe that the world needs a paradigm shift and actions to achieve a more balanced and sustainable post-COVID-19 economy, Thailand has adopted the Bio-Circular-Green Economy Model as a part of our post-pandemic national recovery strategy. The economic model integrates three mainstream approaches to sustainability for a more holistic and balanced approach to advance our economic, environmental, and social goals. At the core of the BCG Economy Model is a campaign to rally each and everyone to shift their behavior to “balance all things”. It reinforces continuing global efforts on climate change, and compounds with those efforts to together accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. This is the engine driving our APEC host year’s priorities.”

Learn more about APEC 2022

Student Delegates

Grace Curty

My name is Grace Curty, and I am a senior studying Politics and International Affairs and Spanish with a minor in Latin American and Latinx Studies from Trinity, NC. At Furman, I am a member of the Riley Institute Advance Team, participating in a self-guided research project, and working in the library.

During my time at Furman, I have had many incredible opportunities. I spent the spring semester of my junior year studying Political Science, Social Justice, and Spanish in Santiago, Chile. While there, I learned about the political realities of Chile and witnessed lots of grassroots activism, and traveled extensively within the country. I left Chile with an increased appreciation for international politics and youth activism. In the summer of 2022 I interned at Upstate International, a Greenville nonprofit focused on promoting international diversity in the Upstate. There, I learned the ins and outs of running a nonprofit and revamped long-standing programs to increase efficiency and community engagement.

Last November, I had the honor of representing the United States as a Voices of the Future delegate at the 2021 New Zealand APEC virtual conference. There, I had the privilege of interacting with peers from across the Asia-Pacific region as we worked together to craft a youth declaration on the future of several important sectors such as technology and environmental action. I am very excited to be reprising my role as a Voices of the Future delegate for APEC 2022 Thailand. Through this experience, I hope to grow as a future policymaker and leader.

Lauren Garrison

My name is Lauren Garrison, and I’m a senior Economics major with a minor in Medicine, Health, and Culture from Lexington, SC. At Furman, I’m passionate about increasing civic engagement on campus and in the Greenville community as a member of the Riley Institute Advance Team. I’m also the Events Lead for Furman Economics Society and a volunteer at Greenville Humane Society.

During my time at Furman, I’ve become increasingly interested in public policy. I’ve conducted two policy-related economics research projects at Furman. In one of my projects, I studied the effect of nonmedical exemptions on vaccination rates for kindergarteners. Most recently, I studied the effect of unemployment on the vote share for European leftwing populist parties. I’ve also had a policy internship with Whitmer & Worrall, a DC-based government relations firm, where I gained an understanding of the federal policymaking process by attending and reporting on congressional hearings.

Some of my most meaningful experiences during my time at Furman, such as my semester studying in Barcelona, have been those that allowed me to connect with people from across the world. I learned so much from my fellow delegates at last year’s virtual APEC Voices of the Future conference, and I’m so excited to attend in-person in Bangkok this year as we build relationships and discuss critical issues facing our world.

Nate Johnson

My name is Nate Johnson, and I am a senior Economics major from Chester, CT. During my time at Furman, I have been fortunate enough to have opportunities to engage with my passion of making a difference in the world. This includes studying conflict resolution in Northern Ireland, doing econometrics research about early childhood development, working as a math and reading tutor for a local non-profit, running a TED talk conference, and heading up business development for a tech startup.

I’m looking forward to diving into the policy realm, specifically in regard to human capital development decisions. I also believe APEC will be a great opportunity for me to connect with others from different cultures and backgrounds, and I am excited to work with youth delegates from all over the world to create a sustainable and inclusive vision for the future.

Michael Peeler

My name is Michael Peeler, and I am a Computer Science major from Cary, North Carolina. At Furman, I am on leadership for the Catholic Campus Ministries and the Association for Computing Machinery, and I am involved in the Riley Institute Advance Team, the Mere Christianity Forum, and the Tocqueville Society.

At Furman, I’ve been honored to do two summers of research projects with the Computer Science department; this past summer, my research focused on using electoral data to measure voter sentiments and have discovered a fascination with using data to analyze policy and sentiments. Throughout my time at Furman, I’ve also fallen in love with the long and ever-proceeding investigation of the Good that is at the heart of the classical western political and philosophical tradition.

In our efforts to seek the Good and love our neighbors, forging personal connections across both physical and cultural boundaries is an essential step in the process, and I am excited to engage with delegates from across the globe at APEC this year. I am extremely grateful to Furman and the United States for the opportunity to represent our nation and be a part of this relationship-building process.