Lillian Ranco ’26: An Emerging Humanitarian
Winner of the Franko-Maisel Prize for Public Policy sets off toward a career in humanitarian aid
Lillian Ranco ’26 has always been fascinated, but revulsed, by war.
“Growing up post-9/11, for most of my life, we’ve been in conflict with another country. I think that’s shaped a lot of how I think about the world,” said the senior from Westbrook, Maine.
Ranco has a deep passion for human rights, and she is “infuriated” that innocent people fall victim to conflicts simply because of where they are born. “That kind of geographical privilege, I’ve always found it to be so interesting, and really hard to wrap my head around.”
As a government major at Colby, Ranco has sought to understand the complexities and rules of war by studying foreign policy, international law, and human rights. But her coursework has been more than an academic exercise. It has helped to define her goals while preparing her for graduate school and a career that helps people in need around the world.
Ranco recently received a significant boost toward her goals when she won the Franko-Maisel Prize for Public Policy. Awarded by the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs, the prize has been given annually to a graduating senior since 2021.
Ranco will use the $10,000 prize toward tuition at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where this fall, she’ll begin a two-year master’s program in public policy, public administration, and nonprofit management with a concentration in international development.
“I am really interested in a career in humanitarian aid, perhaps working abroad distributing humanitarian aid through one of the international organizations,” she said. “Ultimately, I would really like to do negotiations and logistical work setting up humanitarian aid operations.”
Ranco said she cannot sit idly by when so many people in the world need help. She draws a comparison between her interest in war in today’s world, replete with conflicts, and studying biology during a pandemic.
“How can I not do something about it?”
A career that makes a difference
“The Franko-Maisel Prize honors students who have demonstrated a serious commitment to public affairs, and it invests in their ability to continue that work beyond Colby,” said Alison Beyea, executive director of the Goldfarb Center. “Lillian embodies that purpose with exceptional clarity, ambition, and heart.”
The Goldfarb Center played an important role in Ranco’s time at Colby, with its speaker series covering a range of topics, funded internships, and the In the News course, in which she was enrolled her senior year. Collectively, it helped her better understand politics while refining the original career goal she set as a first-year student.
Ranco came to Colby thinking she would pursue a career in government. Growing up in a politically active family, she attended her first political rally at 13 and genuinely had fun door-knocking and phone-banking. In high school, she was a student representative on the Westbrook City Council, where she developed a fondness for city politics and government.
After a few years at Colby, however, her interest in international work and foreign policy began to blossom. Courses taught by Ken Rodman, the William R. Cotter Distinguished Teaching Professor of Government, were especially influential, she said.
“Lillian comes at the material, much of which focuses on important values, from an idealistic perspective, and my courses have compelled her to wrestle with some of the political constraints and value tradeoffs involved in trying to realize those ideals,” said Rodman.
“In her work, class participation, and conversations in my office, she holds on to those ideals while recognizing the constraints and tradeoffs, and she wants to pursue a career that enables her to make a difference.”
A turning point in Washington, D.C.
Also key to Ranco’s pivot toward humanitarian work was a legislative internship in the Office of U.S. Senator Angus King. Funded by a Sandy Maisel Internship Grant through the Goldfarb Center, Ranco spent the summer of 2025 in the senator’s Washington, D.C., office, working the phones and assisting the defense policy team during a period of major global unrest.
The internship was her first exposure to national politics and to the crucial work of human rights NGOs in supporting civilian populations abroad. She realized the role NGOs play in policymaking and how organizations such as the Red Cross keep government officials informed about global crises, she said. “I saw the importance of influence, who influences the government, and the need for that.”
This ultimately led Ranco to shift her focus to this sector.
“It was a turning point,” Ranco recalled. “I realized that [Washington] is not where I want to be. I knew from that experience that I either wanted to go back to school or the Peace Corps.”
Ranco made it her goal to live in New York so she could more readily pursue opportunities with humanitarian aid organizations and other nonprofits headquartered there. Her acceptance to New York University will allow her to expand her studies while being in close proximity to the types of organizations she hopes to work for in the future.
Deep appreciation
As her time at Colby comes to an end, Ranco said she’s ready for what lies ahead.
She has left a mark on Mayflower Hill, serving as a Student Government Association senator for all four years and mentoring a grade-schooler through the Colby Cares About Kids program. She also cofounded a field hockey club, which she has passed on to an underclassman.
Ranco also feels fortunate to have known both Patrice Franko and Sandy Maisel, the beloved faculty members who made the Franko-Maisel Prize possible.
Ranco met Franko, the Grossman Professor of Economics and Global Studies, through her roommate, who dog-sat Franko’s golden retriever. She met Maisel, the Goldfarb Family Distinguished Professor of Government, Emeritus, when he sat next to her at a Goldfarb Center dinner, where they chatted.
“He was just so kind—he spoke to me like a friend,” Ranco said of Maisel, who gave her some of his books and connected her with his Substack so she could read his essays. She realizes what a gift it was to have met him before he passed away in 2024.
To both Franko and Maisel, Ranco expresses deep appreciation.
“I can’t thank them enough for this award.”
