As part of our effort to launch our top student leaders into careers that further our mission, AHS is proud to announce and congratulate the 2020 cohort of AHS Summer Fellows. Emerging from a competitive applicant pool, these twelve student leaders each secured unpaid internships, either in person or virtually, in Washington, DC for Capitol Hill offices, think tanks, and the Executive branch. A status signal for potential employers, it helps students to both procure and accept internships, consequently improving their chances of securing long-term employment after graduation. Summer Fellows also participate in the Virtual Summer Experience.
Through AHS’ financial assistance and coordinated virtual programming, our Fellows will be able to take full advantage of their summer despite challenges associated with the ongoing public health crisis. We’re eager to welcome them, hoping further that this fellowship encourages all AHS students to pursue their professional passions in foreign policy, national security, and economic statecraft.
2020 Summer Fellows
Caroline Bryant, Wake Forest University ‘21
American Enterprise Institute
Caroline is a rising senior at Wake Forest University, studying Politics and International Affairs. On campus, she is involved with Reformed University Fellowship, the Leadership and Character Project, and is the incoming President of her AHS chapter. She spent her third year studying Russian history and contemporary Chinese foreign policy at the University of Oxford, where she also rowed and coxed for her college’s boat club. This summer, Caroline will work at the American Enterprise Institute in the Office of the President. She will examine the role of poverty, domestically and internationally, hoping to better understand this growing U.S. national security issue and its intersection with socioeconomic health broadly and its effects on the readiness of U.S. armed forces. In her free time, Caroline enjoys attending Washington Nationals’ games. She and her family reside in McLean, Virginia.
Will Brzezinski, Tulane University ‘22
U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations
Will is a rising junior at Tulane University double majoring in International Relations and Latin American Studies and double minoring in History and Spanish. Since taking his first semester of freshmen year abroad in Rome as a part of Tulane’s Spring Scholar program, Will has been heavily involved on campus at Tulane. He works as the Chief of Staff of his Model United Nations team, as a manager and mentor in Tulane’s Interdisciplinary Experience Seminar for first year students, and this spring has joined the newly founded Tulane Journal of Policy and Political Economy. This summer Will plans to intern for the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and hopes to have the opportunity to work on issues pertinent to Latin America, the region of focus in his studies. He is eager to gain firsthand insight into Congress’ role in the foreign policy-making process and hopes to garner a thorough understanding of American government’s unique internal procedures and dynamics. After graduation, Will plans to pursue a career in government, hoping to become an officer in the Foreign Service or the military.
Devin Davidson, American University ‘21
National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence
Devin is an International Relations major, with a concentration in foreign policy and national security, and minors in Management and Leadership. This summer, Devin will be interning with the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, where she will be conducting research as to how AI can best be applied to national security missions in the third-offset of a military-technological revolution and contribute to recommendations towards modernizing the federal government’s IT infrastructure and fielding of AI software. As such, Devin’s academic interests stem from this nexus of emerging technologies as applicable to national security and defense strategy, both in terms of the technological capabilities of China and Russia in addition to the operation and ethics of autonomous weapons systems. Additionally, Devin is interested in how AI technologies can serve as an impact amplifier for addressing African nations’ developmental challenges. Over the course of her internship, made possible by this fellowship, Devin hopes to gain a better understanding of the technological software side of AI and its real-time application, as well as investment and talent acquisition strategies for securing AI systems. She looks forward to being better able to grasp an understanding of which direction she would like to take her interests in emerging technologies at the culmination of this internship and following her undergraduate career.
Brayden Helwig, Hillsdale College ‘21
Hudson Institute
Brayden (“Brady”) Helwig is an aspiring strategist and national security analyst. Originally from southern Wisconsin, he is a rising senior at Hillsdale College, where he studies politics with an emphasis in strategy and statesmanship. His research interests include grand strategy, the future of the U.S.-China relationship, and the strategic thought of Alexander Hamilton. This fall, Brady will serve as president of Hillsdale’s AHS chapter. Over the summer, Brady will intern at the Hudson Institute, where he will assist senior fellow Nadia Schadlow in her research on grand strategy and China. He will also attend a Hertog Foundation course on Thucydides. As an AHS Summer Fellow, Brady is excited to attend virtual seminars and book talks on national security topics, including a seminar on American grand strategy with Dr. Aaron Friedberg. His current post-graduation plans involve spending at least a year in southeast Asia before returning to Washington, D.C. and applying for graduate programs.
Adam Hoffman, Princeton University ‘23
Federal Government
Adam is a rising sophomore at Princeton University and prospective Politics concentrator. His studies surround questions of nationhood and sovereignty. This summer, Adam will be interning with the federal government. On campus, he is active in the Alexander Hamilton Society chapter, as well as a number of politically conservative groups: he serves as President of College Republicans; Editor-in-Chief of The Princeton Tory, the University’s conservative journal; and President of the Cliosophic Society, the University’s conservative debate society. Outside of politics, Adam is active in campus Jewish life where he founded the Yiddish Culture Society, deeply engaged in the Princeton Energy Association, and serves on the Student Government Academics Committee. Adam grew up in Houston, Texas and spent a gap year in Israel. Adam is excited to join this summer’s fellowship cohort and learn from AHS’s programming.
Sonya Hu, Georgetown University ‘22
U.S. Trade and Development Agency
Sonya is a rising junior at Georgetown University double majoring in Economics and Computer Science, as well as minoring in Religion & Ethics in World Affairs (REWA). This summer, she will be interning at the U.S. Trade & Development Agency, where she will be responsible for research and project development for a series of U.S. business ventures in the Indo-Pacific region. She hopes to use this experience to integrate her interests in international development, national security, global politics, and trade. This, paired with the fellowship's summer programming, will bolster her understanding of how economic, social, and political factors intertwine to shape international relations.
Kevin Petersen, Columbia University ‘22
Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
Kevin is a junior at Columbia University and a U.S. Army veteran of Operation Freedom's Sentinel in Afghanistan. At Columbia, he primarily studies economics with an intended focus on developmental economics. However, he also studies international relations and history, specifically intellectual history and Middle East history. He has been a member of Columbia University’s Alexander Hamilton Society chapter for the past year and will be serving as the Middle East Discussion Chair in the upcoming year. This summer, he will be working at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation as an events intern. Additionally, he will also be an intern for PEN America in their Free Expression Internship Program. Through these internships, he hopes to gain experience in organizing impactful political events and in carrying out advocacy work in Washington D.C. He hopes to later apply what he learned throughout this summer in his desired career field of international development, especially if he works through non-governmental organizations.
Allison Pluemer, Wake Forest University ‘22
Hudson Institute
Allison a rising junior at Wake Forest University, where she majors in Politics and International Affairs with a focus on national security and minor in Spanish. She has also spent significant time on study abroad programs. Last summer, she attended Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea to take classes on Chinese foreign policy and, this past spring semester, she interned full-time and attended classes in an immersive program in Washington, D.C. This summer, Allison will be working as a research intern at the Hudson Institute, where she will focus on national security concerns in East Asia. The majority of her time will go towards researching North Korean denuclearization and analyzing the threatening behaviors of North Korea for a grant project. Through this internship and fellowship, Allison hopes to continue the growth she has been able to cultivate through her last semester in Washington, D.C. through professional development, networking with her peers, and expanding her knowledge on national security issues and North Korea. Allison feels as though this fellowship provides her with the unique opportunity to interact with other students who prioritize United States national security and understand the importance of leadership values.
Michael Sauer, UNIVersity of Wisconsin ‘21
American Enterprise Institute
Michael is a rising senior at the University of Wisconsin, Madison studying Political Science and Economics, with certificates in East Asia studies, South Asia studies, and Public Affairs. Hailing from Hammond, WI, Michael is a cadet in Air Force ROTC, and he aspires to become a commissioned Intelligence Officer. This summer, Michael will be the South Asia Studies intern at the American Enterprise Institute and support the foreign policy research of scholars Sadanand Dhume, Dr. Hal Brands, and Dr. Ivana Stradner. Additionally, Michael will study 'China's military and the Balance of Power in Asia' through the 2020 AEI Summer Honors Program; ‘American Grand Strategy’ alongside his AHS cohort; and ‘Lincoln's Statesmanship', ‘Thucydides’, and ‘Varieties of American Conservatism’ through the Hertog Foundation. Michael will also be a Strategic Leadership intern at the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy. There, he will lend research and technical assistance in developing course curriculum, leadership programming, and skill strengthening opportunities. Through these internships, Michael will enhance his scholarly expertise, influence national policymakers, and expand his professional network. Last, he aspires to deepen U.S.-India cooperation, trust, and commitment to a 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific.'
Tara Shirazi, Princeton University ‘21
U.S. Treasury, Office of International Affairs
Tara is a rising senior at Princeton University, where she majors in Near Eastern Studies with a concentration in Statistics and Persian. On campus, she is a student fellow with the Program on Religion, Diplomacy and International Affairs, where she engages in discussion with diplomats, environmental activists and scholars on issues of statesmanship and environmental change. She is also a senior editor for a weekly campus publication, the Nassau Weekly, and a past intern at the American Enterprise Institute. This summer, she will be interning at the Department of the Treasury’s Office of International Affairs.
Benjamin Simon, Harvard University ‘21
American Enterprise Institute
Ben is a rising senior at Harvard pursuing a joint concentration in Comparative Religion and Government and a secondary in Computer Science. He serves as an elected representative on the Harvard Undergraduate Council and the Vice President for Community Relations at Harvard Hillel. In addition, Ben is a member of the Harvard Din & Tonics, a founding editor of Emet, Harvard's Undergraduate Journal of Jewish Thought, and a volunteer 5th grade teacher for the Harvard Institute of Politics CIVICS program in Boston public schools. For his senior thesis, Ben hopes to probe the theological origins of key contemporary debates in normative political theory. This summer, Ben is thrilled to be interning at the American Enterprise Institute in the Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies research division. Under the supervision of Dr. Yuval Levin, Ben will be studying the historical evolution of American institutions such as Congress, in order to help shed light on how we can rebuild, and renew faith in, our crumbling institutions. He is looking forward to being part of the Alexander Hamilton Society Summer Fellowship community, through which he hopes to build relationships with other likeminded peers and explore career paths at the intersection of public policy and academia.
Ryan Zhang, Harvard University ‘21
Poverty Action Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ryan is a rising senior at Harvard, where he studies Political Science and is involved with Harvard’s recently established AHS chapter. Outside of AHS, he served as Chair of the Harvard Institute of Politics Policy Program and President of the Harvard College Law Review. He has spent previous summers at the Congressional Research Service, British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. This summer, Ryan will be virtually interning at MIT’s Poverty Action Lab, headed by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, laureates of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics, where will be joining the lab’s South Asia team and working with foreign governments to design and evaluate policy interventions aimed at reducing poverty. In his free time, Ryan loves reading, ice hockey, and all-things the West Wing. He looks forward to joining the 2020 cohort of AHS fellows!