By Sanner Bennett
Kat Camberg is a TPA alum who now works in international affairs in Washington, D.C..
She is part of an organization called the American Enterprise Institute,or AEI, a “think tank.” Over email Camberg described think tanks as “non-profit organizations that research and write about public policy and propose new ideas about how to fix the problems facing the nation.”
She works in the foreign policy department as a research assistant, where she helps with the research that AEI does around how the U.S. responds to the war in Ukraine, as well as conflicts with China.
She spends her time doing things like editing articles and podcasts, organizing and attending events with ambassadors, talking to experts and doing research. While talking about her job Camberg noted that “some highlights of my job have been meeting two presidential candidates, co-authoring reports and articles, publishing original pieces and raising awareness for the need to send aid to Ukraine.”
Answering why she chose to work in foreign policy, Camberg said she found her love for the field while participating in the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange program. As part of this program Camberge got to live in Germany for an entire year after graduating from TPA.
Camberg said that although it is important to maintain good grades, it is even more important, when wanting to be successful in foreign policy, to take part in study abroad programs. They give you good hands-on experience that you cannot get in the classroom. She also mentioned that having good relationships with her professors and internship mentors was beneficial to making good connections when looking for a job after college.
Even after going to Germany, she was not entirely sure what she wanted to do within the field of foreign policy. To help figure it out she took part in many internships throughout her college experience at George Mason University. In her senior year she had an internship with AEI and really enjoyed the work. That is how she ended up working there now.