National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START)

When I first arrived at START, I honestly had very little idea what I would be doing for the duration of the summer. Because I was working on the project collaboration between START and the State Department, my team was not told what the exact project would be until our first briefing at the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism. After being briefed, we were told to keep the project in confidence, which made creating a deliverable more difficult than I anticipated.

But besides the project, my internship at START was the most fulfilling professional experience I have had so far. START really puts effort into providing the interns with as much experience and benefits as possible, from high tech coffee machines to weekly enrichment events that invited prominent speakers, professionals, researchers, and authors from the counterterrorism field to START to give presentations and answer questions from the interns.

The wonderful START staff was more than willing to give interns resume reviews, cover letter tips, and advice on future career paths. Since START always has multiple projects in progress for both the center and for government agencies, I was also able to participate in a red teaming event in addition to my assigned project, which increased my exposure to different aspects of the counterterrorism field.

Overall, my experience with START was incredibly helpful in my career path and I highly recommend future students to apply.

Read more about Caitlin’s experience on her blog  Carrot Tops and Counter Ops!

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