1. Alexis Zavras '13 attended the Holton-Arms School in
Bethesda, MD where she was editor-in-chief of the literary
magazine and president of the in-school service society. At
Dartmouth, Alexis is a Government major, with a focus on
international relations and political theory. She is also
pursuing a minor in Arabic Languages and Literature, and
studied abroad her junior fall on the Arabic Language FSP in
Tangier, Morocco. During her time at Dartmouth, Alexis has
co-founded Sugarplum, a contemporary dance performance
group. She also spearheaded Dartmouth’s first-ever Arabic
affinity housing. In her junior year, Alexis served as a
Presidential Scholar, researching the history of nationalism in the United Kingdom. Most
recently, Alexis completed an internship with the U.S. Mission to the U.N. in Geneva,
Switzerland, where she worked directly under Ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, the
U.S. Permanent Representative to the Human Rights Council. After Dartmouth, Alexis plans to
attend law school and pursue a career in public service.
Alexis was funded by the Rockefeller Center for a summer 2012 internship, with generous
support from the Class of 1954 in honor of John G. Christy ‘54.
Executive Summary from Alexis’s final report:
The Office of International Affairs (OIA) is a section of the Criminal Division in the U.S.
Department of Justice. OIA is responsible for assisting with evidence gathering and coordinating
extradition of international fugitives with foreign countries.
In more practical terms, OIA receives requests from foreign
countries looking for bank records, internet records,
incorporation records, interviews with U.S. residents, etc.,
that would help those foreign officials investigate a criminal
case that happened in their country or involved one of their
citizens. Additionally, OIA attorneys work in tandem with the
State Department to negotiate or update treaties with
“Working for the Department
of Justice has truly changed my
outlook on federal agencies
and strongly influenced my
decision to one day return to
Washington, DC.”
[JOHN G. CHRISTY ’54 ROCKEFELLER CENTER INTERNSHIP PROFILE]

2. foreign countries, which establish the terms of our mutual legal assistance in international
criminal matters.
During my time at OIA, I worked on the Europe Team, which dealt specifically with incoming
and outgoing requests for legal assistance or extraditions with both eastern and western
European countries. The Europe Team was unique in that most of the western countries have
established treaty relationships while many of the eastern countries do not. Since these treaties
dictate the type of assistance we can offer a foreign country, the way in which we respond to
requests from different countries varies greatly. As an intern, I was given the opportunity to
review incoming requests for the first time, and decide whether or not OIA could provide the
foreign country with assistance. If the treaty obliged, I then would draft a letter referring the
request to either the FBI or the appropriate Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA). If a
request required internet records, I was responsible for contacting the appropriate Internet
Service Provider to ensure the preservation of those records during the time it took for us to
refer the request to the AUSA in their district.
All of the requests had great similarities, but no two were the same. As a result, for the first two
weeks, I asked a lot of questions. However, as I became more comfortable with my
responsibilities, I was able to review a case and make recommendations to my supervisor as to
how we should deal with it. Oftentimes my approach was different from my supervisor’s, but
not necessarily wrong. In fact, my supervisor appreciated my creativity and different
perspective when it came to referring cases. From this experience, I learned to trust my
instincts and defend my conclusions, which are skills that I will carry with me throughout the
rest of my professional career.
Alexis Zavras ’13 (center) stops by the Supreme Court before heading to
the Department of Justice on the morning of the historic healthcare ruling in June 2012.