Bush School students have the opportunity to join CGS as affiliates at any time during their tenure at the school. CGS student affiliates are encouraged to:
- Pursue coursework within the concentration in International Politics and Grand Strategy
- Attend CGS events
- Participate in CGS-sponsored programs such as the John Quincy Adams Society
- Compose essays for the Future Grand Strategists forum featured on our website.
If you are interested in becoming a CGS student affiliate, please email us at bushschoolCGS@tamu.edu. Student affiliates participate in CGS programs and pursue grand strategy coursework.
CGS Student Affiliates
Adriel Arguelles
Adriel Arguelles is a Master of International Affairs student attending the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University where he is studying grand strategy and China. He was previously a U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Student Fellow and a Research Assistant for the CoronaNet Research Project. Adriel’s interests include Chinese foreign policy and U.S. policy regarding East Asia, Asia-Pacific territorial and sovereignty disputes, and U.S. biodefense policy. In 2017, he earned a BS in Genetics from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM.
- Dec. 21, 2020: A Shift in East Asia’s Balance of Influence is Coming: The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
Caitlyn Bess
Caitlyn graduated in 2016 from Truman State University (MO) with a BA in Communication and a minor in religion. Caitlyn then served from 2015-2018 in the Peace Corps as a youth development volunteer in Morocco. Afterwards, she began her studies in the national security and diplomacy track at the Bush School. She had accepted a fellowship to work at USINDOPACOM in the Strategy and Planning Office for the summer of 2020, but the global Covid-19 pandemic altered her plans, so she is currently assisting Dr. Andrew Ross with research on American grand strategy at the Bush School.
- Jan. 15, 2021: Asylum for Afghan Women After U.S. Withdrawal
- July 20, 2020: Running Out the Clock on China
Pal Brahmbhatt
Lane Burdette
Alan Chen
David DuVall
David DuVall graduated from North Park University (IL) in 2014 with a BS in Business & Economics. During his time at North Park, he was active SGA, the Economic Freedom, and Univerisity Ministries. Notably, David founded and led a service trip to Central Appalachia where he and twenty fellow students volunteered with a home repair ministry.
After graduating, David worked for a strategic fundraising consultancy and was assigned as a field director on a $130 million dollar campaign in Cincinnati, OH. Most recently, he worked for a software company in Chicago where he implemented and managed a global partner program consisting of twenty-eight members in eight countries.
At the Bush School, David is pursuing an MPSA (’22) with a focus on state and local government and security policy. He’s excited to join the Albritton Center as a student fellow to better understand how domestic policy influences America’s grand strategy and the impact those policy decisions have on the world.
David and his wife, Kara, live in Bryan with their daughter, Sophie.
Roy Eakin
Roy Eakin pursued a B.A in History, with a minor in Asian Studies, and graduated cum laude from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2018. During his time as an undergraduate, he developed a strong interest in modern Chinese affairs and Chinese history. This interest led him to spend a semester abroad in Mainland China as an undergraduate and to later pursue over one year of full-time Mandarin Chinese study in Taiwan. Roy is interested in how China’s multifaceted rise has influenced U.S-China relations, Chinese foreign policy initiatives, Cross-Strait Relations, and security issues in the Indo-Pacific.
CJ Godkin
CJ Godkin completed his studies at Texas A&M University (TX) in 2019. He received a BS in Political Science and a minor in history. During his time as an undergraduate, CJ was heavily involved with the Memorial Student Center (MSC) and served in various officer roles within the organization. As a result of his involvement with the MSC, he was awarded the J. Wayne Stark Outstanding Leadership Award. Before graduating, CJ was also able to complete a summer internship in Santiago, Chile, working with a local NGO on education policy issues. He is excited to join the Albritton Center for Grand Strategy and explore the role of diplomacy and development in grand strategy.
- Nov. 16, 2020: Lingering Specters: Student Visas, Strategic Missteps, and the Cautionary Tale of Qian Xuesen
- Aug. 12, 2020: Mightier Than the Sword: Preparing American Diplomacy for a Post-Primacy World
Maddison Gold
Michael Hollis
Michael E. Hollis is a second-year student at the George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service where he serves on the Bush School Ambassadors Council. His academic interests include American defense policy, Middle East studies, and U.S.-Iranian relations. Prior to entering the Bush School, Michael worked in international business for just under five years. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina in 2013 where he majored in International Studies. Additionally, he received a Graduate Certificate in Advanced International Affairs in 2019 from the George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service. Michael enjoys spending time with his wife and his Norwegian Elkhound, reading history, traveling, listening to classical music or jazz, and cheering on the University of South Carolina Gamecocks.
Ramil Kazimov
Ramil Kazimov graduated from Baku Slavic University (Azerbaijan) in 2010 with a degree in international relations and regional studies. Ramil spent over five years working in NGOs, holding project coordinator and manager positions in “Hayat” International Humanitarian Organization and the Economic Research Center. He also held internships at the International Republic Institute and the UN Office in Azerbaijan. Ramil graduated from the European Security and Defense College, Managing Defense in the Wider Security Context, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, and the NATO International School of Azerbaijan. He worked as a UK Defense attaché representative and advisor to the Ambassador on Defense and Security Relations, working on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at the United Kingdom Embassy in Azerbaijan. Furthermore, he co-organized a Women, Peace, and Security round table discussion and the 70th Anniversary of NATO in Azerbaijan.
- Dec. 16, 2020: A New Look at Deterrence: What Do a Series of Attacks on Iran and the Karabakh War Tell Us About Next Generation Warfare?
- Aug. 18, 2020: Why the US should have a new grand strategy for the Middle East
- Feb. 20, 2020: America’s Undefined Interests in the Middle East
Carter Keating
Carter Keating is a first-year Master of International Affairs candidate at the George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service. His professional interests include international diplomacy, grand strategy, and transnational security issues. Before coming to the Bush school, Carter earned a B.B.A. in Marketing and Advertising Strategy from Texas A&M University where he served as the writing and script supervisor for the 2020 TAMU National Student Advertising Competition Team. Beyond his studies, Carter enjoys running and spending time with friends.
Danyale Kellogg
Danyale is an MIA student and graduate research assistant in the Bush School on the National Security and Diplomacy track with concentrations in East Asia and Pandemics and Biosecurity. She is also a Global Health Graduate Certificate student at the Texas A&M School of Public Health, a graduate research assistant, and a Women in Defense HORIZONS Scholar in addition to representing the Bush School in Student One Health Association in the College of Veterinary Medicine. She has interned with DoD, DHS, the US Congress, and several other organizations. Her research interests include biodefense and health security broadly, US military preparedness for naturally-occurring and man-made infectious disease outbreaks, and US interests in East Asia, particularly on the Korean Peninsula. She previously earned a BA in history from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX.
- Nov. 2, 2020: American Health Security in the 21st Century: The Desperate Need for Improved Collaboration between National Security and Public Health Practitioners and Scholars
- Aug. 26, 2020: Beyond PPE: The Health and National Security Threats Posed by the United States’ Reliance on China for Medical and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
Audrey Kuhnle
Audrey Kuhnle completed her BA in International Criminal Justice, with a minor in Political Science, from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2020. During her undergraduate studies, Audrey found a passion for justice and human rights. She was a member of the John Jay College Women’s Soccer team for two years, receiving scholar-athlete awards from John Jay and the CUNY Athletic Conference. In her second year at John Jay, she moved to Albany to participate in the Edward T. Rogowsky Internship Program in Government and Public Service. After a successful legislative session, she moved back to New York City and became the program manager of a national political non-profit. To focus more on International Politics, Audrey is currently a junior associate at an International Public Strategy Firm. While completing her undergraduate degree in three years, she received Dean’s Lists Awards 5 times along with being awarded a Presidential Scholar from John Jay. At the Bush School, her current concentrations are Cyber Policy, International Politics and Grand Strategy, Intelligence, and U.S. Military and Defense Policy.
Laura Leddy
Laura Leddy is a second-year graduate student at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, where she is pursuing an M.A. in International Affairs. She also works as a research assistant for Dr. John Schuessler. Laura’s research focuses on the intersection between diplomacy and military power in U.S. homeland defense and foreign policy, with particular emphasis on climate security and the Arctic region. Originally from Westchester, New York, Laura received her undergraduate degrees in History and Russian Studies from the University of Virginia in 2016. Prior to arriving at the Bush School, Laura worked for almost three years at the American Political Science Association in Washington, DC.
- Oct. 16, 2020: A Grand Strategy for the Climate
Alan Linenberger
Nikolaus Pittore
Niko Pittore is a 1st year Masters of International Affairs candidate at the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University where he received a Bachelor of Arts in World Politics, specializing in foreign policy and security. His research interests at the Bush School include American foreign policy, particularly toward Iran and the Persian Gulf, Iranian foreign policy, and European security affairs, with a focus on NATO. His concentrations at the Bush School will be International Politics/Grand Strategy and the Middle East. Before coming to the Bush School, he was a research intern in the foreign and defense policy department at the Cato Institute as well as with U.S. Senator Rob Portman and former Ohio Governor John Kasich. While at Ohio State and Cato, he had six case studies published by Dr. John Mueller and the Cato Press on domestic terrorism in the United States since 9/11.
- Sept. 30, 2020: Time to Look Forward: How Washington Needs a New Iran Strategy
- Aug. 4, 2020: China and Iran: A Case Study in the Failure of American Overreach
Margalita Shakarashvili
Noah A. Stevens
Noah A. Stevens is a second-year Master of International Affairs student at the Bush School where he also serves as a graduate research assistant to Dr. Jasen J. Castillo. His research and professional interests focus on U.S. defense policy and planning, nuclear deterrence, military strategy and operations, and international security. He is also the founding president of the John Quincy Adams Society at Texas A&M. Prior to enrolling at the Bush School, Noah was a U.S. Foreign Service Intern with the U.S. Department of State with a political-military affairs portfolio serving in both the Political-Economic Section at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway, and the Office of Iraq Affairs in Washington, D.C. He has a B.A. in International Affairs and Middle East Studies and a B.A. in Arabic, both from Western Kentucky University. When he is not reading, Noah enjoys running, traveling, watching professional tennis, and sipping Kentucky bourbon with family and friends.
Abdelrahman Taha
Abdelrahman “Abdel” Taha is a first-year Master of International Affairs candidate at the George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service. His research interests include Grand Strategy, Civil-Military Relations, Security in the Middle East, and the United States foreign policy in the Middle East. Before joining the Bush School, Abdel lived in Lebanon for 5 years, obtaining a BA in Political Studies from the American University of Beirut and working on geopolitical research.
Jael Espinoza-Tishler
Ms. Espinoza-Tischler is a Master of International Affairs candidate at the George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service where she also serves as the Executive Chair of the George Bush Public Service Organization. She has worked as a remote intern with the U.S. Dept. of State J/IRF Office (formerly S/RGA) for the past two years, where she contributes to the department’s understanding of the role of religion in foreign policy, in the Middle East and around the world. Beyond her academic experience in the U.S., she has conducted award-winning field research about minority ethnoreligious groups in the Middle East.
- Oct. 12, 2020: Religious Engagement: The Role of Persecuted Religious Minorites in U.S. Foreign Policy
Ashley Vance
Ashley Vance is a PhD candidate in United States history. Her dissertation focuses on the US Army’s presence in Germany in the decades following World War II. Within the context of the shifting international landscape during the early Cold War, her research examines how the military created a unique Cold War army in West Germany that was a combat-focused peacetime deployment. She also addresses the soldiers’ lived experience and how their perceptions and behavior influenced Army policy at the time.
