Bush School DC Students Study U.S.-European Relations Through Transatlantic Security Program ’26
By the time Cassidy Gorrigan ’27 finished her bachelor’s degree in international relations at Franklin Switzerland, she had travelled to Austria, Morrocco, Ghana, South Africa and Madagascar. While those international experiences introduced her to other cultures, the Vermont native credits her recent summer trip coordinated by Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government and Public Service-Washington DC Teaching Site with changing her perspective about her future career in international diplomacy.
Offered through the Bush School-DC Teaching Site’s Transatlantic Security Program (TSP), this international trip is designed to give participants a deeper understanding of diplomatic relationships between Western European nations and the United States. During the May 2026 trip, the students visited leading international diplomatic organizations in Belgium and France where they met with top diplomats, military advisors and policy experts.
The range of conversations proved eye-opening. “I came away with a greater appreciation for the complexity of international policymaking because of the number of individuals involved,” said Gorrigan, who is pursuing a master’s degree in national security and intelligence (NSI). “Every policymaking discussion involves balancing political, military, economic and diplomatic considerations across many countries.”
Building Important Bridges
Launched in 2022, TSP is a collaboration between the Bush School D.C. and Ghent University in Belgium. The innovative program is co-led by the Bush School DC’s Executive Director retired Marine Col. J.P. McDonough and Senior Lecturer Kateryna Shynkaruk, Ph.D.
Since its inception, TSP has previously taken Bush School students to major European capitals such as Rome and London. “The Transatlantic Security Program gives our students the opportunity to take what they are learning in the classroom and see it in action,” McDonough said. “This life-changing trip exposes our students to numerous leaders, academics, and journalists to hear and experience multiple views on the transatlantic security relationship. I was honored to lead this insightful trip and am grateful to the donors who made it possible.”
Shynkaruk, who brings high-level experience from serving in the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine and leading think tanks, strives to keep the trip’s focus on application as well as academic theory. “My focus is on practical relevance so that we do not just describe and analyze the world, but we do something about it,” she said. “When policymakers see a problem, we look for a solution to implement. I try to replicate that philosophy in this trip.”
The program uses a highly competitive process to select graduate students who are typically early- to mid-career professionals working in U.S. government agencies, Congress, the military, or other sectors relevant to transatlantic and global security. In addition to Gorrigan, the 2026 TSP participants included Ashton Ferrier ’26, Benjamin Mays ’27 and Ana Cecilia Ruiz ’26.
Different Point of View
The four students agreed that the 2026 trip’s itinerary – which included meetings with representatives of NATO, European Union External Action Service, the U.S. Mission to the European Union, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the U.S. Embassy in France, French Parliament, the European Council on Foreign Relations, and the French Institute of International Relations – significantly expanded their understanding beyond what they had already gained in the classroom. “This trip allowed me to move beyond studying international affairs and experience it firsthand,” said Mays, who is pursuing a master’s degree in NSI while serving as a legislative correspondent for U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA). “Hearing directly from policymakers, diplomats, military officials, and experts in both Belgium and France provided a level of context that is difficult to replicate in a classroom setting.”
The graduate students especially appreciated having the opportunity to learn about American and European allies’ different perspectives. “While there was broad agreement on the importance of NATO and continued support for Ukraine, European officials and experts often emphasized diplomacy, alliance management and long-term stability in ways that contrasted with the more direct and competition-focused American approach,” said Ferrier, a senior associate of government and customer relations at L3Harris Technologies who just completed his master’s degree in NSI. “Hearing directly from U.S. and NATO officials about coalition information sharing, deterrence and the evolving roles of threat actors in the Euro-Atlantic security environment added important context to issues frequently discussed in academic settings and in my everyday work.”
The trip’s speakers also addressed the important balance between statesmanship and military action. “It was inspiring to see firsthand how the Alliance operates and coordinates among its member states. Discussions with representatives from the U.S. Mission to NATO, military officials, and intelligence professionals reinforced the importance of collective defense and multinational cooperation in addressing modern threats,” said Ruiz, a U.S. Air Force officer who just graduated with a master’s degree in international policy. “Hearing directly about NATO’s approach to challenges posed by Russia, China and emerging security concerns helped connect academic theories to real-world policymaking. The visit also demonstrated the complexity of maintaining unity among allies while adapting to an increasingly dynamic security environment.”
Presentations on critical issues such as intelligence sharing also sparked new insights. “While at the U.S. Mission to NATO, I was fascinated by the discussion on intelligence sharing within the Alliance. I learned about the distinction between ‘agreed intelligence’ and ‘non-agreed intelligence,’ something I had never fully considered before,” said Gorrigan, who added that she also benefitted from learning from her fellow Bush School students in both the discussions as well as the trip’s regular debriefs. “Each of my classmates is very well-established in their careers, so it was interesting to hear their perspectives in terms of government relations. Many of their questions focused on how security cooperation might affect economics and government relations.”
Balancing Priorities
In addition to the academic work and trip, TSP gave the Bush School students the opportunity to forge relationships with their counterparts in Ghent University’s program, which is led by Tim Haesebrouck, Ph.D. The Bush School DC students act as hosts when the Ghent students travel to Washington, D.C. each spring to meet key U.S. and foreign policymakers.
Ghent students’ most recent trip included participating in the Bush School DC’s April event, “Europe’s Security Landscape: A Transatlantic Conversation,” which was held in partnership with The Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at the Bush School of Government & Public Service and The Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM). Participants heard from Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States H.E. Olga Stefanishyna, Ambassador (ret.) John Hennessey-Niland, European security scholars Dr. Haesebrouck and Dr. Shynkaruk, and PISM experts Dr. Pawel Markiewicz and Anna Maria Dyner. In addition to expanding and deepening students’ base of knowledge, TSP’s various experiences are giving the next generation of public service leaders an enlarged network that will help them play a role in future strategic policy development. “Security challenges don’t stop at national borders. Issues like cyberattacks, terrorism and disinformation require communities and countries to work together,” Gorrigan said. “Creating strong relationships creates trust, which makes it easier to share intelligence and cooperate. Diplomacy is just as much about relationship building because understanding different perspectives will make us better collaborators.”
