Schar School Student Spotlight

student government

International Security and Music: A Graduating 18-Year-Old’s Global Journey at the Schar School

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 17:19:07 +0000

International Security and Music: A Graduating 18-Year-Old’s Global Journey at the Schar School Andrew J Schappert Tue, 02/10/2026 - 12:19

Request Schar School program information

Learn more about the Schar School

Josef Wolpert knew early that he wanted to understand how the world works when it comes to power, conflict, and security. As a graduating senior in �鶹��Ƶ’s International Security and Law undergraduate program at the Schar School of Policy and Government, he has already begun carving out a path that blends academic rigor, regional expertise, and an unusually global perspective for someone his age.

Josef Wolpert plays the dombra, a traditional Kazakh musical instrument on Lake Kaindy in Southeastern Kazakhstan. Photo provided

He’s 18. He will, he said, “barely be turning 19 when I get my degree” in May.

When he began looking at universities in Virginia, several options were on the table. What ultimately drew him to George �鶹��Ƶ was proximity—to Washington, D.C., to opportunity, and to practitioners.

“It seems like all the professors that are former FBI, CIA, DIA—whatever you want, they have it here,” he said. “If I’m going to follow this track, I want to be surrounded by those kinds of people.”

The decision has shaped his academic experience. Wolpert transferred to George �鶹��Ƶ as a junior after completing two associate degrees at John Tyler Community College (now Brightpoint Community College) near his hometown of Richmond, Virginia. He entered one of the first cohorts of the International Security and Law Program, a one-of-a-kind degree program that prepares graduates to become leaders in the face of security threats, from weather disasters to cyberattacks to nuclear proliferation and more.

The program’s applied focus, Wolpert said, confirmed that he had chosen the right field—and the right place.

“That was mostly the deciding factor,” he said. “Just the amazing faculty that the Schar School has.”

Within international security, Wolpert’s interests have narrowed toward Russia, Eurasia, and cybersecurity, an emphasis shaped by both language and lived experience. Fluent in German as well as his native English, Wolpert studied abroad in Kazakhstan through the U.S. Department of State’s National Security Language Initiative for Youth, spending a summer immersed in Russian-language study and regional context.

That experience continues to inform his academic work. When he does research regarding Russia, he does it in Russian, which, he said, “is very helpful; it gives me an edge.”

That edge was on display in a recent op-ed he authored and published with the encouragement of Schar School Associate Professor Mahmut Cengiz, a renowned terrorism scholar and a research professor at the Schar School’s Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center. The assignment asked students to examine a threat to American security; Wolpert focused on Russia and cybersecurity, drawing on coursework, language skills, and personal networks.

The resulting essay, ”Russian Cyberwarfare Doctrine and America’s Counterstrategy,” was published in January by Modern Diplomacy, an international journal of global policy and academic analysis based in Bulgaria.

"Looking ahead five years,” said Cengiz, “I would not be surprised to see Josef serving as a security analyst or policy advisor focused on European and Eurasian affairs, where his German- and Russian-language skills, intellectual seriousness, and creative discipline will allow him to bridge analysis, strategy, and diplomacy."

As his undergraduate career winds down, Wolpert is weighing graduate school options, with the Schar School’s top-rated international security program at the top of his list.

“That’s my dream program,” he said.

When he is not studying and preparing for his future, Wolpert plays cello—and just about every other stringed instrument that crosses his peripatetic path.

“Music has always been a really big part of my life,” he said. “I really excelled at cello, and I’ve played in orchestras. I’ve met [famed cellist] Yo-Yo Ma on several occasions.”

Wolpert’s musical expertise goes beyond the cello.

“I’ve picked up several other instruments,” Wolpert said. “When I went to Kazakhstan, I picked up dombra, basically a two-stringed guitar. I also know how to play balalaika, which is a Russian three-stringed guitar. If I go somewhere and they have a local instrument, I always pick one up and figure out how to play it.”

Topics

Master of International Security

Class of 2026

Graduation

Spring Commencement

Balancing Oars and Advocacy: Schar School Senior June Johnson’s Leadership Journey

Andrew J Schappert — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 16:50:23 +0000

Balancing Oars and Advocacy: Schar School Senior June Johnson’s Leadership Journey Andrew J Schappert Thu, 10/23/2025 - 12:50

“I didn’t know rowing existed in high school. There was no team in my area because we didn’t have a river near us,” said June Johnson, a senior International Security and Law major in the Schar School of Policy and Government and an Honors College student. Now a coxswain on �鶹��Ƶ’s women’s rowing team, the Warrenton, Virginia, native balances her sports career, passion for law, and activism for athletes’ mental health.

June Johnson: ‘My grandma would tell me how great [George �鶹��Ƶ] students treated her, how great the faculty was, [and] how that experience was so empowering for her.’ Photos by George �鶹��Ƶ Athletics

For the uninitiated, the coxswain position is the boat leader, steering and motivating rowers for speed. Which suits Johnson perfectly.

Johnson’s success started with a lucky coincidence.

“When I came to George �鶹��Ƶ, they had a booth for rowing, and I thought ‘hmm, maybe I should try that,’ so that’s how I got into [rowing],” Johnson said.

And now, more than two years later, she finds that “it’s really been the best experience,” she said. “The coaches are incredible and my team is super supportive.”

For Johnson, sports and leadership go far beyond the boat, as she is also a leader in the athlete advocacy space. She runs the A-10 Conference Student Athlete Advisory Council and advocates for mental health support for young athletes.

That advocacy is built on “finding the balance of helping grow people’s leadership [abilities] to the point they are able to speak on [advocacy] platforms, and making sure their needs are met as well as bringing together people who are already confident and want to speak up,” Johnson said.

Having realized law school would be her goal as early as her freshman year of college, Johnson emailed Assistant Professor Phillip Mink, the director of the Patriot Pre-Law Program in the Schar School, and, seeing untapped potential, expressed interest in bringing more activity to the organization.

“I was initially skeptical of June’s plan to reorganize the club,” Mink said. “But then she started talking, and her energy level was palpable. She was so fearless, confident, and articulate that I immediately felt comfortable with her leadership.”

After getting on board, Johnson helped find a team of dedicated board members and got to work. “It was a great first year, and we did nine events each semester,” said Johnson. She is now president of the program.

Having graduated from high school early, Johnson wasn’t sure where to go for college. Her grandmother, Shirley Metzger, BS Social Work '01, a George �鶹��Ƶ alumna, stepped in to help.

Johnson as coxswain: ‘It’s really been the best experience. The coaches are incredible and my team is super supportive.’

“My grandma would tell me how great students treated her, how great the faculty was, [and] how that experience was so empowering for her,” Johnson said. She couldn’t resist applying.

When asked how she is able to manage so many commitments, Johnson said, “I have such a great support network.”

She believes having people that you can trust and talk to makes a big difference, and she is lucky to have that. “Careful planning and love for what you do” are the other two ingredients of success, she added.

From advocacy for mental health to pre-law resources, Johnson always does the most that she can and helps those around her build a supportive community.

“Everything I do is because I love people in my life,” Johnson said.

In This Story

Phillip Mink

Request Schar School program information

Learn more about the Schar School

Learn more about �鶹��Ƶ Athletics

Topics

Patriot Pre-Law Program

Jurisprudence Learning Community

Skills Learned in Jurisprudence Learning Community Help Student Land Full-Time Position

Andrew J Schappert — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 12:19:03 +0000

Skills Learned in Jurisprudence Learning Community Help Student Land Full-Time Position Andrew J Schappert Wed, 10/22/2025 - 08:19

Cameron Chambers likes a plan. As a high school senior, the Bethesda, Maryland, native already had his career path mapped out.

Cameron Chambers: “I was looking at any opportunity as an undergraduate to get my foot in the door and also investigate law as a practice and see if it was something I would do.”

Now a Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s (BAM) student majoring in accounting in the Costello College of Business, Chambers chose �鶹��Ƶ specifically for the BAM pathway and the opportunity to jumpstart his education and achieve his goal of practicing tax law.

“People always said, ‘Think of education as an investment,’ so I just researched it,” he said. “George �鶹��Ƶ offered the BAM program and I could apply to be a CPA. It lets me do that faster so I can go to law school. It gave me a good place to do all those things.”

As an undergraduate in the Honors College, Chambers explored avenues that would enhance his interest in a future law career. He is a member of the George �鶹��Ƶ Academic Standards Committee and an editor for the Undergraduate Law Review, part of the Schar School Patriot Pre-Law Program.

He also discovered the Jurisprudence Learning Community (JPLC), one of four faculty-led communities, each with its own academic theme, housed in the Schar School of Policy and Government. JPLC is open to any sophomores, juniors, and seniors who plan on pursuing law school following graduation or are interested in learning how the law pertains to a career in public administration, policy, or politics.

“I was looking at any opportunity as an undergraduate to get my foot in the door and also investigate law as a practice and see if it was something I would do,” he said.

In addition to joining a community of peers interested in law and attending field trips in and around the Washington, D.C., area, Chambers gained something unexpected in the JPLC.

“We were assigned a lot of legal research projects,” he said. “I don’t do that as an accounting major.”

The experience of doing research served Chambers well when he interned for eight weeks last summer at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) doing mergers and acquisitions.

“There’s a lot of tax code I had to go through,” he said. “That legal research skill set that I got was invaluable. Other people didn’t have it. And I thought ‘Why am I not struggling?’ Because I did this.”

Chambers, slated to graduate in December and begin next semester as a graduate student, credits JPLC with helping him secure a full-time offer from PwC as a tax associate starting in the summer. He reached out to Shea Holman, director of JPLC, to share the good news.

“I told her that the [JPLC] class prepped me for this perfectly,” he said. “It was that legal research ability that differentiated me and definitely helped me get that return offer in a competitive space.”

For more information about the Jurisprudence Learning Community or any of the Schar School’s other learning communities, visit the Schar School Learning Community webpage.

In This Story

Shea M. Holman Kilian

Request Schar School program information

Learn more about the Schar School

Topics

BAM program

Costello College of Business

Undergraduate Research Assistant Program

internships

Honors College

Beyond Borders: Schar School Master's Student Redefines Security Through Human Experience

Andrew J Schappert — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 19:43:53 +0000

Beyond Borders: Schar School Master's Student Redefines Security Through Human Experience Andrew J Schappert Mon, 09/29/2025 - 15:43

Nathan Stolzenfeld frames their research around the lived experiences of people rather than just the borders of states. That is something the first-year student in �鶹��Ƶ’s Schar School of Policy and Government’s Master of International Security Program has been thinking about since their undergraduate years.

Nathan Stolzenfeld, with Associate Professor Lucas Núñez, accepts the Outstanding Senior in International Security and Law award in May. Photo by John Boal Photography

“If we keep our language to purely discussing the bordered nature of politics, we can't really effectively solve those problems,” they said. “It's incredibly important to remember that when we are having discussions about the entire body of Taiwan, or the entire body of China, or any other country, that there are people in these countries. They have real risks presented to them by things that are not state-based violence, like climate change or gender-based violence, disease, all of those issues—they cross borders.”

Stolzenfeld’s research focuses on East Asia, specifically the contested statehood of Taiwan, a longstanding issue that has taken on new importance in recent years.

As an undergraduate in the Schar School’s international security and law (ISL) program (Stolzenfeld finished in three years), they worked in the Undergraduate Research Assistant Program (URAP) with renowned immigration expert Professor Justin Gest and Associate Professor Michael Hunzeker.

Stolzenfeld was one of the first five graduates with a bachelor of arts in international security and law from the Schar School, and they are expanding on the concept of security with their research and understanding of political theory. The draw of the ISL program was “the specificity of the major,” Stolzenfeld said, adding that Hunzeker, director of the Taiwan Security Monitor, successfully championed the program.

While the 2025 Outstanding Senior in International Security and Law might have graduated into a promising job in their chosen field, Stolzenfeld felt more knowledge and preparation was called for. In fact, the Honors College and University Scholars alum said the driving force to pursue a master’s degree in international security at the Schar School was the professors.

“All of my professors have been really engaged with helping me formulate ideas and making sure that I'm always heading in the right direction, even if I don't align with their beliefs or how they perceive the world,” Stolzenfeld said.

It was one of their Honors College courses, Ruins of the Apocalypse, taught by Assistant Professor Benjamin Renne, that provided further inspiration. The Honors College curriculum supplemented Stolzenfeld’s Schar School classes on international security “and it helped me take the concepts I learned in a more holistic way and apply them to the classes for my major,” they said.

“Different forms of media—be it video, video games, photography—can be used to make political statements, and they can be used as forms of representation, advocacy, or resistance if needed,” they said. Things as far flung as “climate fiction and apocalyptic fiction can be used to spur social change.”

A few weeks into their graduate program, Stolzenfeld knows what is next to achieve: self-discovery.

“I would like to experience more, travel more, read more, and just figure out myself,” they said.

Learn more about the Schar School

Request Schar School program information

In This Story

Michael Hunzeker

Justin Gest

Topics

Honors College

Master of International Security

Can AI expand access to legal services? This aspiring lawyer hopes to find the answer.

Sarah Holland — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 19:23:17 +0000

Can AI expand access to legal services? This aspiring lawyer hopes to find the answer. Sarah Holland Fri, 09/05/2025 - 15:23

With an associate’s degree from Northern Virginia Community College already in hand by the time she graduated high school, Sharanya Maddukuri was determined to make the most of her final two undergraduate years. Because of its top ranking in Virginia for internships, �鶹��Ƶ was the place for her.

Maddukuri, an Honors College student, is majoring in government and international politics with a minor in ethics and artificial intelligence (AI) and wants to attend law school. She’s already hit the ground running, landing two internships at the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) in Washington, D.C., during spring and summer semesters in 2025.

How did you find your internship with the LSC?

I’m in the [Schar School of Policy and Government] mentorship program, and I’m paired with Tim O’Shea, BA Government and International Politics ’19. He’s currently a lawyer for the government. I told him about how I was having trouble finding an internship for the spring 2025 semester, and he recommended I look at opportunities with LSC.

You’ve interned in two different sectors of LSC. Your first internship in the spring was with the Pro Bono Innovation Fund (PBIF). What kind of work did you do?

Basically, the PBIF offers grants to legal aid organizations across the nation to help them engage more lawyers and non-legal professionals in pro bono services to help close the justice gap. So, one of my main projects was a five‑month audit of the Pro Bono Innovation Fund, where I analyzed data from 30 legal aid organizations. After presenting my findings, I realized my work had sparked a genuine shift in how the team approached its largest grant, which made this project one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had.

I also helped my supervisor plan a panel on pro bono work for the Equal Justice Conference in San Francisco, and I got to attend the conference to see the panel I had worked on for five months come to life! I had the opportunity to hear about pro bono cases all around the world, like a case of international kidnapping where private attorneys from a big law firm stepped in to provide resources and help the client. Hearing about these cases where pro bono made a difference was really inspiring.

In the summer, you transitioned to the Disaster Grants Program within LSC. How did your responsibilities change?

In the Disaster Grants Program, I mainly worked on the Legal Aid Disaster and Heartland websites, which are both resources for legal aid professionals working in disaster areas and for disaster survivors. One exciting project I did was paving the way for a site-wide content audit to support the development of an AI chatbot, which will greatly assist disaster survivors navigating the plethora of legal issues that arise after a disaster.

Maddukuri in front of the LSC sign in their office. Photo provided.

You mentioned the justice gap: Is this an issue you’re passionate about?

Yes, definitely. The justice gap has been growing since the ‘80s, and LSC reports that low-income Americans did not receive any or enough legal help for 92% of their civil legal problems. Having been exposed to the ways that legal aid organizations and LSC are using AI, I know I want to pursue a career helping legal aid organizations incorporate AI. Using AI responsibly to help reduce the load of their intake processes for applications, developing AI self-help resources for legal advice or completing paperwork, or even chatbots that can provide translation services: Those would really help people who don’t have access to legal services, and therefore would help narrow that gap. I would love to be at the forefront of that.

How have your experiences at George �鶹��Ƶ helped prepare you for the responsibilities of your internships?

The Jurisprudence Learning Community (JPLC) in the Schar School has been really helpful in equipping me with pre-law resources. The director of the JPLC, Assistant Professor Shea Holman Kilian, has been a great resource as well, particularly helping me prepare to apply for the internship. And her class is also very similar to a class you would take your first year of law school, so I feel better prepared for law school when it’s time.

Law and Society with [assistant professor] Kelly Richter was a welcome challenge and incredibly helpful. We analyzed the dynamic relationship where society shapes the law, and in turn, the law shapes society. And since I took that course in the spring, I was learning about procedural justice and all its complications while developing this pro bono panel that talked about procedural justice. I got to use what I was learning to develop my work.

And my courses with the Honors College prepared me with research skills that I’ve been able to use at LSC.

What have you gained from your time with LSC?

After this experience, I’ve decided that once I become a lawyer, I’ll be doing pro bono work, no matter what. I think it instilled that culture of service and caring about the community and really help reinforce that law is where I want to be. I believe in LSC’s mission now more than ever, and having had my eye on this profession since I was 11, this experience has only made me more certain that it’s the right place for me.

Learn more about Schar School of Policy and Government

Learn more about the Honors College

Topics

Jurisprudence Learning Community

Study Abroad in South Africa: Democracy, Development, Diplomacy—and Lions

Andrew J Schappert — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 17:45:40 +0000

Study Abroad in South Africa: Democracy, Development, Diplomacy—and Lions Andrew J Schappert Thu, 08/28/2025 - 13:45

In This Story

Michal McElwain Malur

Request Schar School program information

Learn more about the Schar School

Schar School students walk with the lions at the Ukutula Conservation Center and Biobank. Photos provided

In the days before the 2025 fall semester began, graduate students from the Schar School of Policy and Government at �鶹��Ƶ ventured some 8,000 miles away from the Arlington, Virginia, campus to South Africa to take part in an academically rigorous study-abroad program hosted in partnership with the University of Pretoria.

Democracy, Development, and Diplomacy is a three-credit “global intensive” course set against the backdrop of South Africa’s first coalition government since 1994. The program challenged students to critically evaluate how domestic politics intersect with development strategies, regional security, and international diplomacy.

The course provided demanding case studies in governance adaptation and policy implementation, deepening students’ understanding of democratic transitions and international relations in practice.

“Study-abroad programs like this are invaluable to our students,” said Michal Malur, the Schar School’s director of external programs who served as part of the course leadership. “They strengthen résumés, expand global networks, and give students a perspective that simply cannot be gained in the classroom alone.”

Former Associate Dean Thys van Schaik, who has curated the program itinerary for two decades, once again led this year’s initiative. He emphasized that courses such as Democracy, Development, and Diplomacy play a vital role in advancing the mission of higher education.

“Study abroad transforms education. It’s not just about what students learn in lectures, it’s about how they live the lessons, experience the world firsthand and carry those insights into their careers and lives,” said van Schaik.

Academic sessions were held in Cape Town, Pretoria, and Johannesburg. Highlights included a panel on coalition governance and South Africa’s 2024 political transformation; briefings at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation on foreign policy and global security; and an in-depth exploration of constitutional design and legitimacy at Constitutional Hill, guided by judicial and academic experts.

Students also engaged in focused discussions on conservation, restorative justice, and biodefense with specialists at leading research institutes, reinforcing the connection between theoretical frameworks and real-world challenges.

“We weren’t just reading about democratic transitions,” said biodefense master’s student Kate Groves, “we were hearing directly from policymakers.”

German Acosta, a public administration master’s student, added that “the combination of site visits and lectures gave me a broader global perspective.”

The program’s experiential learning extended beyond the classroom and involved the local wildlife. In addition to spotting whales off the scenic coast of Cape Good Hope, a visit to the Ukutula Conservation Center and Biobank, a cutting-edge educational research hub for mammal and predator conservation, students engaged—safely and ethically—with a pride of lions. The lions are part of the center’s reproductive research on species that are keystones to African ecosystems.

Schar School students met dignitaries at South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation in Pretoria.

For more information on the Schar School’s study-abroad offerings, visit abroad.gmu.edu. Ben Main is a master of international security student in the Schar School.

Topics

study abroad

South Africa

Government and International Politics

Beyond Books: How a Schar School Senior Turned an Internship into a Legal Education

Andrew J Schappert — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 17:08:27 +0000

Beyond Books: How a Schar School Senior Turned an Internship into a Legal Education Andrew J Schappert Mon, 08/11/2025 - 13:08

In This Story

Phillip Mink

Request program information

Learn more about the Schar School

The first time Erika Burkard was in a courtroom as an intern for a law firm, the presiding judge asked her to introduce herself before the session began.

Erika Burkard’s advice for finding internships: Try everything that’s interesting. ‘You have time to investigate it. Don’t rush into it.’ Photo provided

“I stood up and said, ‘Good morning, ma’am.’ And she said, ‘It’s “Your Honor.” And I was like, ‘Oh, dang it!’”

Whoops! But that teachable moment is just one example of the myriad details the government and international politics senior in the Schar School of Policy and Government absorbed during an internship that not only supplemented her college education but confirmed that the practice of law was indeed her calling.

“I learned a lot of these really rigid things that you wouldn’t ordinarily recognize that I’ve been exposed to from interning,” the �鶹��Ƶ Honors College student said. “It’s been a really valuable experience. I’ve seen a lot of interesting litigation, and the fact that I’m allowed into these closed courtrooms has been an invaluable advantage.”

Finding an internship at a law firm “is really tricky,” she said. “A lot of the time you need certain qualifications, or you need to know someone who knows someone. And they’re normally looking for law students.”

With the encouragement of Assistant Professor Phillip Mink, who directs the Schar School’s Patriot Pre-Law program, Burkard did what she calls “the most old-fashioned version of finding experience you possibly can”: the cold call. She didn’t call just one or two law firms in the Richmond, Virginia, area where she lives but “roughly 30 to 40. I don’t mind endurance.”

Finally, she called Cravens & Noll, a well-established personal injury and family law firm with offices convenient to her home. After an interview, she landed a paid summer internship.

That was last summer, 2024. She returned to the firm during the winter break and again this summer, with plans to return in December during the 2025 winter break.

“Her internship with a superb law firm is a crucial component of her education as it combines hands-on experience with a law practice and the challenging intellectual work she has done as an undergraduate,” said Mink. “With backgrounds in both sectors, she is well-positioned for success in law school and the practice of law. I look forward to following her progress in both.”

She has many strengths, Mink added, “but I will never forget her core philosophy of improving her work, constantly experimenting with new ways to approach a problem.”

Burkard’s internship contributes to her legal studies minor in countless ways. During her time at Craven & Noll, she has assisted attorneys, paralegals, and clients by drafting court communications, estate documents, divorce filings, and even assisting in a memorable wrongful death suit involving a nursing home.

She has sat in on litigation, trials, and hearings and provided real-time assistance to counsel. And she’s travelled to nearly every court in Virginia, speaking with judges, clerks, incarcerated clients, the Commonwealth Attorney, and others.

“I fell in love with even the mundane procedural things that need to be done at law firms, because all of it contributes to a much larger picture,” she said. “Even if it’s just taking a client’s phone call.”

In addition to her studies and internship, Burkard is executive administrator of the campus Alpha Phi chapter, which raises funds for the study of women’s heart health. Among other duties, she writes memos at meetings, something she knows a bit about.

“It’s funny how my job at a law firm goes straight into my sorority stuff,” she said.

While the process of landing an internship required dogged persistence, Burkard knows her efforts paid off. She advises incoming students, her advice is to “go on �鶹��Ƶ360 and take advantage of the activities, meetings, speakers, because that’s how I narrowed down what I was most interested in. I had thrown around the idea of pre-law, but it wasn’t until I had gone to a pre-law meeting at the Schar School that I realized this is something I want to do. And you have time to investigate it. Don’t rush into it.”

Topics

Honors College

Pre-Law

Patriot Pre-Law Program

internships

Hina Kazmi: Meet the Schar School Alum Who Is Launching ‘Intro to Space Policy’

Andrew J Schappert — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 15:55:13 +0000

Hina Kazmi: Meet the Schar School Alum Who Is Launching ‘Intro to Space Policy’ Andrew J Schappert Thu, 07/17/2025 - 11:55

In This Story

Hina Kazmi

Request program information

Learn more about the Schar School

Hina Kazmi: ‘We’re expanding our access to space, and it has become critical infrastructure—but what does that mean policywise?’ Photo provided

Hina Kazmi, after seeing Voyager 1’s images of Saturn: ‘I knew I was going into aerospace.’

When you ask Hina Kazmi if she would ever like to live in a colony on the moon, her answer is quick and enthusiastic.

“Oh, I would absolutely do that,” she said. “Do they need a tester for the first flight to Mars? I would do that too.”

It’s not a farfetched question to ask Kazmi. The Schar School of Policy and Government at �鶹��Ƶ adjunct professor is set to teach a new course, Introduction to Space Policy, beginning in August with the start of the 2025 fall semester. It’s one of the rare courses in the country that will bring the growing fields related to space exploration—and exploitation—into the classroom.

The course is designed to support a broad range of public policy interests, Kazmi said. Those interested in international and national security, engineering, business, public administration, and other topics will find the course useful in their academic pursuits and future careers.

“When you think of space,” she said, “you think of commercial startups and Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk launching their rockets. That’s the fun stuff. But beyond that excitement there are huge national, international, and commercial aspects to this industry.”

As more of the business of space falls into in private hands, there comes a need for clear, informed, and educated thinking on public policy, she said.

“In the past, [space activity] was government controlled, but now it’s commercially available for navigation, weather prediction, communications. We’re expanding our access to space, and it has become critical infrastructure—but what does that mean policywise?”

As an example of the field’s growth, the tiny island of Bahrain, where the Pakistan native spent her middle school years, has a space agency. “Every country now sees this as important,” she said.

Kazmi, an engineer by training who at one point was leading programs for NASA, developed a fascination for space in 1980, when the interstellar craft Voyager 1 sent its first images of Saturn back to Earth from some 800 million miles away. The astronomical event made an impression on the young scholar.

“I knew I was going into aerospace,” she said.

Kazmi earned her undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering, with a minor in mathematics, in 1993 from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona.

She also holds a master of business administration degree. After rising through the ranks in technical and management roles at major private and public aerospace leaders, she began teaching at George �鶹��Ƶ, revitalizing a dormant course in managing government contracting.

Realizing her future was in academia, she earned a master of public policy degree from the Schar School in 2008, followed by a PhD in public policy in 2016. She received the Joseph A. Fisher Award for best PhD dissertation.

“I really believe Gen Z, who is in college now, and Gen Alpha behind them will be the space generations,” she said. “Space tourism, living in space, working in space, moon colonies—all of that is happening. We’re in the very, very early stages of it.”

Topics

Master of Public Policy

PhD Public Policy

GCI-Grand Challenge Initiative

Space

Alumni

GCI-Space

Alumna Whitney Woods to Lead Denver Domestic Violence Survivor Center

Andrew J Schappert — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 17:41:55 +0000

Alumna Whitney Woods to Lead Denver Domestic Violence Survivor Center Andrew J Schappert Mon, 07/07/2025 - 13:41

Request Schar School program information

Learn more about the Schar School

Whitney Woods, a 2007 graduate of the Schar School of Policy and Government’s renowned government and international politics program—known for preparing students to lead in complex policy environments—has been appointed executive director of the Denver-based Rose Andom Center, a comprehensive resource center supporting survivors of domestic violence. The announcement was made earlier this month.

Whitney Woods: ‘When I came to visit, it was a picture-perfect weekend and felt like something out of movie. George �鶹��Ƶ turned out to be a great fit for me.’ Photos provided

For Woods, née Phillips, the new position at the helm of Colorado’s first family justice center is a fitting next chapter for someone whose career has already included high-stakes crisis communication on Capitol Hill, work with the White House, and strategic leadership across government and philanthropy.

The Colorado native chose �鶹��Ƶ in 2004 “because I wanted to go to college very far away from where I grew up—it was important to me,” she said. “I knew I wanted to work in government someday and George �鶹��Ƶ had a great program.”

Woods, who minored in conflict analysis and resolution in an accelerated degree program, was also interested in studying international policy.

“If I decided to go that route, I wouldn’t need to change schools,” she said, an observation that underscores one of the Schar School’s defining strengths: housing both political science and international affairs under one interdisciplinary roof.

But it was the tour of the Fairfax Campus—a leafy hub of innovation and buzzing with student life—that was the deciding factor.

“When I came to visit, it was a picture-perfect weekend and felt like something out of movie,” she said, recalling the campus vividly more than 20 years later. “George �鶹��Ƶ turned out to be a great fit for me.”

Whitney Woods Alpha Xi Delta’s 2006 recruitment event

The Schar School’s proximity to key institutions in nearby Washington, D.C., was another draw. “It was close to the city but not in it,” she said. “It felt like a small community even thought it was really connected to not just the larger community, but to the world.”

That proximity paid off: While balancing her coursework with roles as a �鶹��Ƶ Ambassador—giving campus tours to prospective students—and an active member of Alpha Xi Delta, a Schar School professor helped her develop a resumé and encouraged her to apply for internships on Capitol Hill, despite her only experience being retail work.

That nudge led to a 2007 internship with U.S. Rep. John Barrow (D-GA) and an extended stay on Capitol Hill until 2013, rising through the ranks, ultimately serving as communications director for U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) until his retirement in 2013.

In that role, she helped shape national narratives and dealt with the world’s major media outlets during a series of historic moments: the assassination of Osama bin Laden, the government shutdown, Hurricane Sandy, the Sandy Hook school shooting, and the death of Muammar Gaddafi, among other generational milestones.

“When I eventually went to work in Congress, I often thought of how interesting it was that our [government] framework remained the same—three branches—but that so much else had changed,” she said. “My [Schar School] degree provided a solid foundation for understanding how our government is supposed to work and the intention behind its design.”

As she begins her new role leading the Rose Andom Center, Woods is drawing once again on the values and vision she developed in Fairfax where, she said, “I really grew up there and found my independence, and who I wanted to be.”

Topics

Alumni

Government and International Politics

Schar School BA in Government and International Politics