Born and raised in Berks County, Pennsylvania, I received a Bachelor of Arts in International Politics and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Pennsylvania State University. I recently graduated with my master’s degree in International Affairs from the Bush School of Government and Public Service, concentrating on International NGOs and Korean Affairs.

 

The Call of Public Service

 

            Without consciously realizing it, my parents instilled a sense of public service in me at a young age. Whether through activities with our local church, or learning about service through the Boy Scouts of America, my experience with public service profoundly affected my desire to continue serving in the public sphere as an adult. The revelation of my grandfather rescuing his crew from a plane crash during his time in the Air Force inspired my own military service in the United States Army. My time as an armor officer in the Army solidified this sense of public service inside me, while also teaching me how to lead others and to participate on a team.

 

Discovering a New Home

 

            My career as an Army officer took me to places that I never would have expected, shattering the barriers that would have kept me in my rural hometown. During my Army career, I was briefly deployed to South Korea, a country I had heard much about from my father through his business trips, but I had not really given much thought. Despite only a few months in the country, I found myself drawn into the culture, language, and lifestyle. Though I originally came to the country as a soldier, I discovered the plight of North Korean defectors who risk everything to find a better life in South Korea. After discharging from the Army, I returned to South Korea to teach English and realized that helping people, whether through English-teaching or humanitarian volunteer work, was emerging as one of my passions. With little experience in the area, and not much knowledge of the country I was falling in love with, I put my courtship with Korea on hold to better prepare myself to tackle these complex issues by applying to the Bush School of Government and Public Service.

 

            My time at the Bush School has better equipped me with the knowhow to address the humanitarian issues that face the Korean Peninsula today. Through courses on non-profit management, security issues, in addition to a language program and semester abroad at the Graduate School of International Studies at Seoul National University in Korea, I have tailored my coursework here to further my knowledge base to better address the issues that face the Korean people, both North and South. I have settled in Seoul, South Korea, continuously improving my Korean language ability to effectively work with Korean-based NGOs to improve the lives of North Korean defectors in South Korea and across the world.