“The primary goal and responsibility of parents is to educate their children. In our family, I am going to be the stay-at-home parent. I need to be well educated.”
-Jennifer Overing (’21)
After graduating from IWP, Jennifer (White) Overing (’21) felt well-prepared for her work at the Defense Intelligence Agency, where she worked on Russia issues as the war in Ukraine broke out. After two successful years at the agency, much soul-searching, and discussion with one of her former IWP professors, Jennifer made the leap to being a full-time homemaker and mother. In this new role, she plans to serve her family and community while using her IWP education to inform the next generation.
Pursuing education in humanities and national security
Jennifer grew up in Chicago in a family that was very interested in history and politics.
“As a child, I remember seeing many books in my mom and dad’s room,” said Jennifer. “We would go to bookstores on vacation. I read lots of biographies. My father was an attorney and had a lot of books on Lincoln.” Her family would watch the State of the Union and read the news together.
Jennifer quickly developed an interest in these topics. “I wanted to be educated and to know what was going on in the world,” she said.
Jennifer used her college experience at Villanova University to cultivate her love of history and to explore the big philosophic questions of life – what is the meaning of life, and what is the best way to live? She double majored in History and Humanities.
Upon graduation, Jennifer said, “I was pretty sure that I didn’t want to do something normal with my life.” She politely declined a traditional job offer and moved to Pennsylvania for nine months to work on a horse farm. “It was a wonderful experience. It was very difficult!” she said.
She left the farm after one of her Villanova professors asked if she would work in Prague for a study abroad program there. Jennifer agreed, and she enjoyed the course which focused on Naziism and communism. After experiencing this program, Jennifer was ready to investigate ways she could serve her country.
Jennifer learned about IWP from one of her professors and decided to attend. She appreciated that IWP required its students to study the Western moral tradition and American founding principles – “If you’re going to be a public servant, it is important to understand these things.”
She also found that “There is a strain of moral relativism that is woven into higher academia. IWP didn’t seem to have that.” Finally, she appreciated the fact that IWP’s professors were scholar-practitioners who had experience in the fields in which they were teaching.
Jennifer was awarded the prestigious Louis DeJoy and Aldona Z. Woś Family Foundation Scholarship. At IWP, she served as President of the Student Government Association and as a Student Ambassador selected by the President’s Office. She graduated in December of 2020 as a part of the Class of 2021 with a Master of Arts in Statecraft and National Security Affairs.
Jennifer (left) briefing IWP’s Board of Trustees along with other Student Government Association officers.Work at the Defense Intelligence Agency
“Through IWP’s programming, I was able to get a position in the Intelligence Community,” said Jennifer. She worked as an analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). She was conducting counterintelligence analysis with a focus on Russia when Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022. For the last few months of her time at DIA, she worked as a foreign liaison officer.
Jennifer felt well-equipped for this work after studying at IWP. Her resume was stellar when she walked into the agency. After a few weeks on the job, her colleagues started to comment on the excellent work she was doing.
“One of my professors, Dr. David Thomas, who prepared me, had been working at DIA for 30 years on similar things,” said Jennifer. “I felt incredibly well-prepared. There were not many surprises at all in my job. There were small surprises, but I knew the history. One of my supervisors had known Dr. Thomas when he was at DIA.”
Once, Jennifer was speaking with a colleague who was enrolled in an M.A. program at a more well-known school with more resources. “They told me the IWP education was on par if not better than their program,” said Jennifer. “I was surprised at what it meant to have the IWP brand in these spaces.”
Jennifer at IWP Commencement in 2021.A difficult choice
“I am grateful to have served my country,” said Jennifer. “I left my role at DIA to focus on life at home, because that is where my heart was.”
After getting married this past February, Jennifer left her professional work even before she knew she was pregnant. She is now expecting a baby boy in November. “I wanted to take my gifts and talents into building up my family and community.”
The decision to leave her professional life came after years of reflection and is thanks to her very supportive husband. “It was scary,” said Jennifer. “I was nervous about telling the hardworking women in my family and my colleagues at work. They were overwhelmingly supportive and positive.”
Jennifer’s time at IWP played into this decision. “We talked about happiness at IWP, and we read thinkers like Aquinas and Aristotle. IWP places students in places of public service and focuses on servant leadership. Part of this is focusing on the long, eternal view.”
While she was going through her security clearance process for the DIA, Jennifer met outside of class with Dr. Joseph Wood. He was teaching the Western moral tradition class at the time. A former Deputy National Security Advisor himself, Dr. Wood told Jennifer that he noticed that she got excited about faith and family, but not about national security. Jennifer started to realize that her heart might lie elsewhere.
During her studies at IWP, Jennifer also worked at the Thomistic Institute, a Catholic organization focused on the intellectual life. She found herself deepening her faith and thinking carefully about her life’s vocation.
When she met her future husband, they had serious conversations about family life and the future. He was willing to support her whether she wanted to work or not, and he encouraged her to do what she thought was the best way for her to serve God.
Jennifer with her husband JohnServing family and community
After making the leap to becoming a mother and homemaker, Jennifer is glad she did. “I’m busier now at home than I was at my job,” she said.
Instead of waiting for maternity leave, Jennifer is using her time right now to prepare for the birth of her baby and develop skills for family and home life. She is cooking more than she ever has, handling the household budget, completing the chores, and working to bring more of the natural world into her family’s life.
Jennifer is using the flexibility she has now to give back to the community intentionally. She is organizing meal trains and being more in touch with what her friends and family need. She is volunteering with her church and working to connect volunteers with the places they can be most effective. “The intentional, charitable part of my family is what I’m doing with this time,” she said. “I have been trying to apply my professional skills to my community life.”
She is also writing almost every day and is pushing herself to do more public speaking. She recently wrote an article titled “Have hope, have kids” for The Critic, a British political and cultural magazine.
The IWP education and life as a parent
When asked whether she feels that her IWP education was a worthwhile investment, Jennifer says yes – she is glad she is an IWP graduate.
“The primary goal and responsibility of parents is to educate their children,” she said. “As a mother, I am going to be the stay-at-home parent. I am going to be around the children. I need to be well educated.”
“My time at IWP led to my time working in the Intelligence Community – being in rooms that not many Americans could walk into. This experience gave me a better perspective on how our government and world work, as well as a better perspective on what I want for my children and family.”
When asked whether she would do anything differently as a parent as a result of her IWP education, Jennifer said the center of her family’s life will be the moral life and the virtues that she and her husband instill in their children.
“If you study history, if you pay attention even to the history of our own country, you know that countries change and institutions change, and there is not a single country in our history that has survived forever,” said Jennifer. “But human beings are pointed towards the eternal. If you are going to be a virtuous country, you need to have virtuous citizens. I’m concerned about my children’s virtues. IWP instilled these values in me. IWP has the long view.”
Jennifer (right) with fellow recipients of the Louis DeJoy and Aldona Z. Woś Family Foundation Scholarship.