The Robertson Foundation for Government named three students at the Bush School of Government and Public Service to the Class of 2023 Robertson Fellows cohort.
For thirteen years, the Robertson Foundation has nominated fellows from top international affairs graduate institutions in the nation. The Robertson Foundation supports future leaders in public service through academic fellowships, funding for government internships, and professional development and networking opportunities. In return, fellows commit to working for the federal government for a minimum of three of their first seven years after graduation.
Robertson Fellows are highly qualified, committed, and globally aware individuals who will serve the public as national leaders in roles that relate to international issues, foreign policy, and national security.
This year’s Bush School fellows are:
Emily Ashbridge
Emily Ashbridge most recently served as a Program Specialist at the US Institute of Peace, working on the Afghanistan and South Asia portfolios, and she supported the congressionally mandated Afghanistan Study Group that identified policy recommendations in Afghanistan for the Biden administration. Emily has traveled extensively in the region and lived in Pakistan from 2015 to 2017 while serving as a Babar Ali Fellow at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. She graduated from the University of Chicago (IL) in 2015 with a BA in psychology. Emily comes to the Bush School as a Robertson Fellow, where she will further explore US grand strategy in Asia, with particular focus on economics and security.
Christina Baker
Christina Baker graduated with honors from the University of Louisville (KY) in August 2016. She received a BA in political science and a minor in Russian studies, concentrating on conflict and national security. She studied abroad in Ireland and in the Czech Republic, studying the ethnic conflicts in each country. Following graduation, Christina received a Fulbright grant to Narva, Estonia, where she taught English and assisted with research on Estonian-Russian tensions. Since then, she has worked in public policy on the federal and local levels, most recently as a legislative aide to a city councilwoman in Lexington, Kentucky. At the Bush School, Christina will concentrate in both international politics/grand strategy and intelligence.
Chase Burciaga
Chase Burciaga graduated in 2021 from Texas A&M University with a BS in mechatronics and two minors, one in embedded systems integration and one in cybersecurity. He has interned at Houston Mechatronics, designing robots for the oil and gas industry; Sentry Technology, researching Internet of Things applications for smart bridge structures; and the Department of Defense, fortifying cyber defense. He has also designed and constructed an underwater unmanned vessel created for undersea research investigations. Additionally, Chase has worked at the Security Operations Center as a student network security analyst and built robotic rovers for research applications in the Mechatronics Intelligence Solutions Laboratory. Chase will focus on cybersecurity diplomacy or nuclear proliferation to prepare for a future in federal government.
