Study abroad scholarship recipient builds political science résumé in Costa Rica

A Central Washington University student who dreams of one day working for the U.S. government furthered his ambitions last fall when he studied in Costa Rica for three months.

With the help of three scholarships, including the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State, junior Mahmood Alkhazraji lived in the Central American nation from September until early December.

He took classes at the Universidad Veritas, a private, arts-focused institution in the capital city of San José, and traveled around with his fellow exchange students, learning about Costa Rica’s culture and its people.

“We went to school four or five days a week, but we also got to travel around quite a bit, which was cool,” said Alkhazraji, who also received the WorldCat First Passport Scholarship and the WorldCat Airfare Scholarship through the CWU Office of International Studies and Programs. “I feel like I really got to know the country.”

As a political science major, Alkhazraji’s main goal for his study abroad opportunity was to speak to someone in the Costa Rican government about the similarities and differences between their system and the one found in his home state of Washington.

After searching unsuccessfully for the first two months, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to line up an interview before he returned home in early December. But, at the last minute, a member of the Social Democratic Progress Party agreed to meet with him at the main legislative campus in San José.

“It took me a little while to land the interview, but I was able to meet with a legislative assistant for a few hours,” said Alkhazraji, an Iraqi refugee who moved to the U.S. in 2016 with his mother and grandparents. “That meeting gave me a really good understanding of how our two systems of government compare to one another.”

The Costa Rican official, Mau Matamoros, serves as an assistant for the Director of the Social Democratic Progress Party's Political Advisors Office. Once Alkhazraji secured the appointment, he crafted some questions ahead of time, leading to a productive and enlightening back-and-forth with Matamoros.

“He spoke English, so we were able to have a pretty good conversation,” Alkhazraji said. “It was interesting to learn about how different things are down there, even though they also live in a democracy.”

With his newfound understanding about the Costa Rican system of government, Alkhazraji will be giving a series of presentations at CWU later this year. He plans to talk about the vote-counting system there versus here in the U.S. He also hopes to shed some light on the misunderstandings many Americans have about the country.

“A lot of people here have no idea where Costa Rica is, or how important it is in the world economy,” Alkhazraji said. “I’m hoping that all of the research I’ve done might one day make a difference in U.S.-Costa Rica relations.”

In addition to discussing what he learned during his three-month study abroad experience, he will also talk about the value and accessibility of the Gilman Scholarship.

“One of my goals is to promote the Gilman Scholarship and encourage other first-generation students to pursue study abroad opportunities,” said Alkhazraji, who is also studying psychology at Central. “I never thought I would get selected, but I put myself out there and I got chosen. I want other students to know that it can happen for them, too.”

Ever since his high school days in Tacoma, Alkhazraji has been passionate about political science, and he hopes to one day become a foreign service diplomat for the U.S. State Department.

He served as a page for a state representative during the 2023 legislative session in Olympia, and also attended a leadership conference at the Washington State Capitol during high school.

Last school year, he returned to Olympia to participate in rallies with fellow CWU students seeking to bring attention to the need for financial aid programs like the Washington College Grant.

Alkhazraji will add to his résumé this winter when he represents ASCWU as a student lobbyist during the 2026 Legislative Session in Olympia.

“I love learning about how government works, and I’m really excited for this opportunity,” he said. “I can’t wait to come back to Ellensburg and talk about everything I have done over the past few months.”