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A few months ago, I made the decision to apply to attend the week-long Student Conference on U.S. Affairs at West Point Military Academy as the representative for the McConnell Center. SCUSA’s theme this year was innovation and the future of American foreign policy, and the goal of the conference is for each roundtable topic to create a policy memo addressed to the President, which is presented at the end of the conference. I was immediately interested because this is exactly the type of work I want to pursue, given my career goals in public health policy and international affairs. However, I hesitated to apply because I was unsure if I was qualified enough to attend or if I was taking away this opportunity from someone else who really wanted it. Thankfully, I was chosen to attend the conference a week ago, and I can confidently say that I am beyond grateful that I took the opportunity to apply.
Despite the exhaustion from not sleeping the night before my arrival due to excitement and nerves of attending the conference, I was immediately rejuvenated when I stepped foot on West Point’s campus on November 1st. The experience was completely foreign to me as a civilian, where everyone around me was dressed in military attire, and the campus consisted of gorgeous architecture overlooking a strategic point of the Hudson River established by George Washington. It was apparent that I was standing where history was made as we walked past Trophy Point, Thayer Hall, and the 'beat navy' tunnel. We were brought to a large auditorium where all the cadets and other delegates were incredibly friendly and welcoming. My host cadet came and helped me with all of my bags as we walked to her dorm room. Quickly, I understood that she and her roommate had fascinating stories about how they decided to attend the top military academy in the world, and I felt incredibly comfortable with both of them. I went to classes with my host cadet, interacted with her friends, and learned more about their day-to-day life. As someone who considers themselves quite disciplined and has a set schedule, I realized that what I did as a civilian was hardly anything compared to the work that these cadets do every day. The students at West Point do everything that is required of them and beyond that as well. Yet, every cadet I interacted with was incredibly humble and kind despite their packed schedules, accomplishments, and tiresome hard work. Surprisingly, these conversations became treasured friendships over the course of the four days.
The roundtable I was chosen for was tackling human distress through innovation, which puzzled me, the other delegates, the cadets, and our co-chairs. However, over the course of three days, we all came together after long conversations to create a policy memo that addressed long-term and short-term solutions focused on economic infrastructure, women, peace, and security, and climate change. The other delegates in my group were from prestigious universities such as Harvard, James Madison University, Texas A&M, and different countries. Nonetheless, we created a supportive group that welcomed everyone’s ideas and created a safe space for debate, and in a short amount of time, became friends. In our group chat, we sent jokes, pictures, and book recommendations, and watched television clips together in our downtime. Additionally, our co-chairs worked with each one of us to see what our future goals were and what resources they could give to help us achieve them. My group encouraged my ideas, and I was honored when they chose me as one of the members of our group to present our policy memorandum on the last day of the conference. The work with my groupmates, panels from national security advisors, and the keynote address from Secretary John Kerry reaffirmed my aspirations to help populations on an international scale through policy.
When I arrived at SCUSA, we were told that the ultimate goal of the conference was to establish military and civilian relationships. Despite the amazing insight I gained from professors and students on international affairs and policy, what I really treasured was the friendships made with the cadets and other delegates I met at SCUSA. The conversations we had went beyond our stances on U.S politics and foreign affairs despite us having very different university lives and backgrounds. In the end, we all shared a common passion to help others around the world through policy and security. My roundtable group has still kept in touch a couple of weeks after the conference, and we all exchanged social media to see what each of us was up to in our hometowns. Currently, I am applying for my Masters in Public Health Policy, and the lessons I learned from SCUSA reminded me exactly why I am pursuing public service. It is the relationships with people we make and the positive outcomes from these experiences that create a safer environment for everyone, even if we have different viewpoints or backgrounds. By working together, we can truly achieve whatever we set our minds to and create a better world through innovation.