Projects
Selected to attend the Reagan National Defense Forum (2017) - This is a conference where government and national security officials from the United States gather to discuss upcoming national security issues and challenge each other’s thoughts. By participating in this conference, I was given the opportunity to network with senior-level professionals and ask them questions about their careers. As a result, I obtained more experience in effectively communicating with others.
High School “Days of Intrigue" (Counselor and coordinator, 2016) - This was a high school-level national security simulation that I assisted in planning and coordinating. This opportunity allowed me to work with large groups of people and assist them with different issues.
State Department’s P2P Challenging Extremism Program (2016) - This opportunity allowed me to work with a large team in developing a website. Our website was designed to counter radicalization by the Islamic State. We received Honorable Mention in this international competition and presented our product in Washington, D.C.
University of Mississippi’s “Days of Intrigue” Intelligence Simulation (Participant 2013, 2014; Coordinator 2016) - This is a national security simulation where the students get to experience what it is like responding to a global security crisis. While coordinating this event, I represented the red cell team and learned how a red team works in wargaming situations.
Presented at the 5 Eyes Conference (Spring and Fall 2014) - I participated in two, bi-annual 5 Eyes Conferences, which are intelligence workshop conferences with members from the 5 Eyes countries (United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada). This opportunity gave me the chance to work in a large group while analyzing a national security concern. Likewise, I learned how to effectively brief an intelligence product.
Research
Intensive research on the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Forces - Because the PLA Rocket Forces was a Chinese military service created in December 2015, it is relatively new and the research on it is limited. I decided to focus the majority of my research on this organization in order to become an expert on the service since there are none yet. The majority of my research is conducted in both Chinese and English. I have assessed that because this military service has yet to establish a mission statement, there are doctrinal issues concerning whether China intends on blending or dividing its nuclear and conventional capabilities. Likewise, the creation of the Rocket Forces has resulted in the other three services challenging its nuclear mission by developing their own strategic delivery systems.
Research paper on Taiwanese rapid runway repair and Chinese ballistic missile capabilities - This looked into how a conflict would occur between China and Taiwan in regards to China using missiles to eliminate Taiwanese runways. I concluded that even though Taiwan has invested in its runway repair capabilities, it will need to continue improving these capabilities before it can withstand a Chinese attack. If you want to further explore this research paper, please refer to my Critical Thinking page of this ePortfolio.
Presidential archival research and analysis on the Tiananmen Square Massacre - I went to the George HW Bush presidential archives and did primary research on the Tiananmen Massacre. A lot of these documents originated from Ambassador James Lilley. After conducting this research, I proceeded to read Ambassador Lilley’s book and now consider him to be a personal role model for his work on China.