I completed my undergraduate studies just before arriving at IWP for the summer internship. When I arrived on my first day – one month after most of the other interns had begun – I had until that point not met anyone who was likewise interested in international relations or any topics even tangentially political, and what I arrived to was a welcoming group of extremely intelligent fellow interns who really created the foundation for my experiences throughout the internship as a whole. It was my fellow interns who took the many events, lectures, and opportunities made available to us throughout this summer and made them experiences.
Among those experiences were tours of the Capitol, the Department of Justice, and the Pentagon. One of my favorite aspects of the internship was the weekly intelligence briefings. We all have our own preconceptions of the world and inherent perceptions regarding the events we read in the news, but to hear my fellow interns’ interpretations of said events offered alternative lenses into their ways of thinking, opportunities for understanding, and unforgettable laughter and jokes that I feel were indispensable to the internship.
One of the most influential aspects of the internship was the research I had the opportunity to conduct with Professor John Tkacik, a career-long specialist in China. Professor Tkacik’s knowledge of the region – both academic and experiential – was so mind-bendingly thorough and complete that it set a personal standard for my own degree of insight and expertise needed to truly call myself a specialist in whatever region I find myself working. I walked into IWP with only a cursory understanding of the U.S.-China competition and geopolitical rivalry, but the research with Professor Tkacik allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of said competition and turn political opinions into ones of policy.
This summer’s internship with IWP was one that might turn out to have altered my career prospects entirely. Prior to this summer, I had no intention of pursuing graduate school so soon and was unsure of what direction I wanted to pursue in my career. Now at the end of the internship, I have a general direction to pursue and am now scheduled to attend the IWP master’s program in the fall.
Matthew Bracken
IWP National Security and International Affairs Research Intern, Summer 2024
May 2024 Graduate of the City College of New York
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