Rokas Bendzius“Continuing professional education is extremely important to stay on top of your career track. IWP is an excellent place to do that if you’re in the national security space or related private companies.”
– Rokas Bendzius, (’22)
Originally from Lithuania, Rokas Bendzius served with the United States Coast Guard before beginning a federal contracting career, supporting the Coast Guard, State Department, and other agencies. His work has had major impacts, including saving the U.S. government $25 million in unnecessary contract costs.
He completed a Graduate Certificate at IWP to continue his professional education, and his classes deepened his understanding of interagency processes and national security decision-making.
Below, he shares his perspectives on federal contracting and the IWP education.
Please tell us a little about your background.
I started my career on active duty with the United States Coast Guard (USCG), with half of my time spent on a cutter conducting search and rescue, counter narcotics, and immigration missions in the Pacific and the other half at Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Since I left active duty, I have had the chance to support multiple USCG, FEMA, and Department of State missions through my work as a contractor for several companies across many contracts. I have been working for or supporting federal agencies for the last fifteen years.
My educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Florida State University, a Master of Arts in Management and Leadership and Master of Arts in Information Technology Management from Webster University, and a Graduate Certificate in Intelligence Studies from The Institute of World Politics.
Please tell us about your current professional work.
My most recent professional work was as a data specialist for a very large defense contractor supporting the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Office of Data Analytics. In my role, I helped them establish and maintain best data governance practices, so their data was organized, secure, and ready for efficient analysis.
Why did you choose IWP?
I found out about The Institute of World Politics through my family. About a decade ago, my wife invited me to attend several lectures at IWP, and I was very impressed by the type of school IWP was, a serious and focused institution with the mission to advance U.S. national security. The school had an ambience of purpose that I did not see at other educational institutions.
Did your studies at IWP impact your approach to your professional work?
The quality and character of IWP professors had the most impact on my professional approach. Every single professor I had the pleasure to study under at IWP was a scholar – and most importantly a practitioner – of the field they taught. Their careers in the national security space allowed them to supplement academic theory with real-world experiences and teach the complexities and nuances that come with real-world national security missions.
Studying with these professors helped me better understand interagency processes and politics and how they relate to national security decisions. I learned the nuances of how things work.
Please describe a significant impact that you have had at work.
When I was serving as a program manager for a contract with the Diplomatic Security Service, a team of five other analysts and I carefully monitored a $1.5 billion contract held by a large defense contractor. Our analysis ensured that the government was not overpaying for contracting services. We saved over $25 million in unnecessary contract costs to Diplomatic Security.
What do you find most rewarding about contracting work?
As a government contractor, the most rewarding aspect of this type of role is the ability to directly support federal agencies and their missions.
There are many ways to support the public service and national security missions conducted by U.S. government agencies, whether through military service, civil service, or contract work. While each path has its own rules, benefits, and peculiarities, all of these people gather together to ensure the United States remains safe and the public is served well.
Rokas with fellow IWP alumni volunteering at a networking event for IWP students.