3/25/25: Interview with Dr. Caileigh Glenn
Dr. Caileigh Glenn is an AWC Postdoctoral Associate in AGS.
What has been the most memorable part of your AGS experience?
The Program in American Grand Strategy offers so many opportunities to apply the study of international relations to the practice of U.S. strategy and policy. The AGS speaker series and the Phillips Lectures facilitated some fascinating discussions, and getting to hear from policy experts and practitioners enriched my own thinking about pressing foreign policy challenges. I enjoyed them all! But the most memorable part of my time with AGS was the Staff Ride to Gettysburg. Not only was I able to meet the impressive AGS undergrads and affiliates, but we were able to learn from each other in the proverbial “room where it happened.”
What is something you wish you had known when you began your fellowship at AGS?
The AGS network is very broad and AGS folks have a wide array of insights to offer scholars of foreign policy at all levels. Students and fellows can certainly learn from each other and the visiting speakers, but the ability to reach out to AGS alumni, affiliated faculty, and visiting supporters of the program, too, – including members of the wider Duke community – is a hugely valuable resource of the program. I really recommend that students frequently check the AGS calendar for upcoming AGS opportunities to both hear from visiting speakers and connect with others in the AGS Program network.
How has AGS contributed to your professional development?
My time with AGS has been incredibly valuable in a number of ways. My research on foreign policy has benefitted from hearing the experiences of visiting policymakers and policy advisors. By getting a sense of how policy practitioners view foreign policy challenges and opportunities, and how their expertise shapes their decision-making, I am better able to sharpen my own perspective and question the assumptions I am making in my research. The opportunity to facilitate discussions with students in the program has also helped me to be a better teacher-scholar, and I plan on incorporating what I’ve learned from my interactions with AGS students into my approach to teaching. Finally, the interdisciplinary nature of AGS at Duke has helped to enrich my own thinking about best practices for research and policy-relevant scholarship.
What is next for you in your career?
This summer, I will begin the next stage of my career as an Assistant Professor of Political Science specializing in International Relations and Foreign policy at Middlebury College. I am incredibly excited to bring to my new role all that I have learned as an America in the World Consortium Postdoctoral Associate in Duke’s Program in American Grand Strategy.
12/19/24: Interview with Isabel Ivanescu
Isabel Ivanescu graduated from Duke in 2020 with a degree in Political Science. She is a senior consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton.
Ms. Ivanescu joined AGS Fellow Robert Miron to discuss memories from her time in AGS and how the program has helped her after graduation. Click here to watch the full interview.
12/5/24: Interview with Jimmy Toscano
Jimmy Toscano graduated from Duke in 2021 with a degree in Public Policy. He now serves as an analyst for the Government Accountability Office.
Mr. Toscano sat down with AGS Fellow Robert Miron to discuss his AGS experience and how it influenced his career. You can find the video interview here.
12/5/24: Interview with Sebastian Borda
Sebastian Borda graduated from Duke in 2020 with a major in public policy. He is the Policy Director of Polaris National Security.
How has AGS helped you in your professional life since graduating?
One way it’s really helped me has been on the Hill. It so happened that I worked across the hall from another AGS alum who worked for a fellow Senator! I got to see her every day and work together on resolutions and bills, and consult each other on what our bosses were doing. It was really cool to get to work alongside another AGS person in the real world. Apart from that, I would say continued mentorship from professors has been really helpful, both as I explored grad school and different career pivots.
What was the most memorable part of your AGS experience?
There were so many memorable parts to AGS! Some of the ones that stick out were writing my senior thesis with the guidance of Dr. Simon Miles; he spent a lot of hours with me working on that project, which was super helpful. And some of the dinners with guest speakers too. I definitely remember the ones with Ambassador Bolton and General Dunford and asking them questions outside of events. And then the Gettysburg staff ride. Just getting to walk through some of those battlefields was really powerful, and getting to explore history with other Duke students was a really memorable part of the experience.
What is something you wish you had known when you were an undergrad participating in AGS?
I think I wish I knew how much uncertainty comes in the national security world and that I was prepared for that. It took me a long time to realize that crisis is opportunity and not to necessarily strive for work-life balance across every day, but to strive for it over the course of seasons. I also wish I knew just that things would turn out alright. I think that it’s easy to get on the academic and professional treadmill, and to worry. The truth is, it all works out. I wish I had applied less pressure on myself during my time at Duke to make opportunities happen.
What was your favorite AGS experience?
I think I would have to point to some of the dinners with guest speakers as my favorite experiences. Just getting to speak with them in a more intimate setting.
Interview by Robert Miron
11/22/24: Interview with Deborah Ades
Deborah Ades graduated from Duke in 2023 with a double major in Public Policy and History. She now serves as a Legal Analyst for the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
How has AGS helped you in your professional life since graduating?
The community for sure. Wherever you go, there is always an AGS alumni willing to sit down and meet you, chat about your goals or if they work in a different field, connect you with the people who can.
What was the most memorable part of your AGS experience?
The most memorable event during my time with AGS was the dinner with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley. It was absolutely unreal to both be a part of running the event for the Duke community and then getting to hear from the former chairman in such a small setting. My attendance at a dinner with such an influential decisionmaker reflects the unique opportunity AGS provides Duke students to interact with big time policy leaders, preparing us to engage thoughtfully and represent our university well.
What is something you wish you had known when you were an undergrad participating in AGS?
I wish I had utilized the opportunity to go on the staff rides more. It is such a unique opportunity to get to travel with peers and professors. Not only do you get the chance to develop close relationships, but you can learn so much from the experience.
What was your favorite AGS experience?
By far my favorite AGS experience was taking the AGS capstone seminar with Professors Feaver and Miles. Beyond being thrown into some of the most fascinating literature and challenges facing grand strategists today, I had the chance to learn from fellows, masters students, and peer undergrads with a wealth of diverse perspectives. The course pushed me so far outside of my comfort zone that few classes have ever contributed so much to my development as a scholar and individual. Further, even today in the course of my actual job, when I get put in rooms filled with experts in the field, I can revert to the lessons I learned in the seminar on how to press on certain points, question assumptions, and leverage the knowledge of those around me. I can say with confidence the capstone is the closest approximation a Duke student can get of what it’s actually like to work in the foreign policy or national security space.
Interview by Halle Wagner
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