Kathleen Schwind (Class of 2015)

I grew up in a small agricultural town. Becoming part of the Washington Crossing Foundation as a 2015 Scholar first opened my eyes to the possibility of turning my love of country and my commitment to service into a career. Being part of a community that has the same dedication and passion for service and country has been an inspiration as I pursue a career in foreign affairs, defense, and national security. For example, I was set to travel from England to Pennsylvania for the WCF 50th Anniversary celebration and to hear National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien speak. Although this never came to pass because of the pandemic, watching the incredible work he is doing for our country, and having the knowledge that he is a WCF Scholar, has been an inspiration for me. I am striving to one day influence US foreign policy and national security at the highest levels like he has. I feel incredibly blessed to be part of a community that is so dedicated to empowering individuals for careers serving our fellow Americans.

After meeting and being inspired by leaders in the Washington Crossing Foundation, my interest in foreign affairs has been strengthened through my travels around the globe for projects, research, United Nations conference presentations, and academic study. For my MIT master’s thesis, I explored the role of freshwater as a peace-building tool in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At the University of Cambridge I expanded this research, using water as a lens to better understand negotiation patterns in transboundary disputes in the Middle East and North Africa region. Today, I am working with the Middle East branch of the MIT International Science and Technology Initiative, taking advantage of the groundbreaking peace agreements in the Middle East to build partnerships based on science, technology, and entrepreneurship that can further connect Israel and Arab countries. At the end of November I started an internship at the US Department of State, to gain hands on experience in foreign affairs, before beginning my MBA at Stanford in Fall 2021.