The only constant in the world is change. While I can’t speak for the other majors and minors that Hopkins offers, I can say for certain that the international studies department just about has this as our unofficial motto. People change, empires rise and fall, cultures evolve, and at the end of the day, we’re all just stories waiting to be studied by the history department. So, for my moment in the world, why international studies, and why Hopkins?
I love people. Really, I do. It might seem strange to read those words from the post of someone so deeply enmeshed in the world of politics and statecraft, almost as if I’m setting up a campaign advertisement (more on that in a moment). But at the end of the day what drove me to study everything from war and espionage to trade relations and isolationism was a deep sense of kinsmanship and obligation to just about everyone I’ve ever met.
As Attorney General Garland said in his confirmation hearing (something which I encourage any public service aspirant to watch), “I feel an obligation to the country to pay back, and this is the highest, best use of my own set of skills.” I can’t tell you how many times that quote has come back to the front of my mind, everywhere from undergraduate seminars to job interviews and now work in Washington, DC. It’s true that anyone can take their degree and use it to make the world a better place, but it is the sheer density of that sense of obligation which has been frankly awe-inspiring to me as I’ve gone through my time at Hopkins.
Everyone I’ve met in the DMP: Master’s in International Relations program has some sense of this. Whether it be security or international economics, cultural studies or emergent technology—we all want this perpetually changing world to be on the long arc of progress. It’s beautiful, really, and it just goes to show the biggest highlight of this program is the people in it. I could write ad nauseam about the numerous educational highlights of the program, the networking opportunities that studying in DC presents, or how I’ve made long-lasting friendships and partnerships that have championed me along my pursuit of joining domestic politics, but I think the best wrap-up for all this is really a paraphrase of something I heard on the first day of my research methods course as taught by Professor Raul Roman: Your data comes from people, their lives and experiences, so treat it like the gift that it is. When it comes to studying at Hopkins, be it the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) or Homewood, oh what a gift it has been.
As for anyone considering if the one-two combo of Homewood and then SAIS is for you, well, if you’ve read this far then odds are it is. Regardless of whatever part of the international community you want to study, there’s a place for you here at Hopkins. Take it from someone who keeps chasing the math of belief, the laws of speech, all the while balancing how AI fits into things—everything is interesting, and everything is welcome. Come join the fray.
