HCLcoasters

I'm looking to apply to a few diplomacy and policy programs next fall but my resume is sorely lacking international experience. I'm not really worried about other parts of my application so I'm certain I need to be improving in this area before I focus on anything else. The problem is I have a full-time job in local government which means I don't really have the opportunity to just leave and grab a full-time IR internship. Is there any other way to gain the experience I need? Are there good volunteer opportunities or part-time positions I should be looking for? I'm in NYC btw.

Program: MPP/JD Schools Applying To: HKS, Stanford PP, Woodrow Wilson, Georgetown, Chicago Interests: I'm interested in terrorism, security, money laundering, and things along those lines. Undergrad Institution: Swarthmore College. Studied abroad at Oxford. Undergraduate GPA: 3.83 Undergraduate Major: Political Science/IR GRE: 165+ V 160+ Q LSAT 173 Quantitative Courses: Intro Econ (A-), Intermediate Macro (B+), Intro GIS (A), Intro Econometrics (B), Urban Econ (A-), Intro CS (Freshman Pass/Fail), and I'm thinking about taking a calculus or statistics courses this spring as a post grad course (which one should I do?) Age: 23 (will be 24 when I apply) Languages: English, trying to learn Russian Work Experience: Will have 2 years working as a paralegal in the most important District Attorney's Office in the country handling organized crime and terrorism cases. Did a 3-month internship writing for a DC think tank, during this time my op-eds were published on multiple fairly large websites. Did a 3-month internship at another DC think tank doing statistical research on the American opioid epidemic with a Harvard econ professor. LORs: One from an IR professor that I took 4 classes with during undergrad, got an A in every single one. One from a Constitutional Law professor whose class I aced. One from my supervisor at work. SOPs: We'll see. Need to do more research. Publications and Honors: Published a couple op-eds about economic issues, (including international). My job in the DA's office isn't really the best for publications tbh. The nature of the job is that it's pretty covert. Concerns: My major concern is my lack of good quantitative experience. I would really appreciate any guidance on how I can best help myself here. Also, any advice on JD/MPPs (which are the best?) would be greatly appreciated.