Name: Nicole Hoesterey
Home Institution: Middlebury College
Major: International Politics and Economics
CNS Projects: Nuclear Threat Initiative

“The summer undergraduate internship at CNS introduced me to the field of nonproliferation studies, developed my research skills, and gave me valuable tools for professional development. Even though I came into this experience without much of a background in weapons of mass destruction specifically, by the end of the program I felt as if I was nearly an expert in the field! The lectures explored all the different aspects of the field, and my work on the Nuclear Threat Initiative website allowed me to explore topics I found interesting further in depth. I was even able to help with the development of a website to engage high school students around the globe in an interactive and exciting way to teach them about the risks of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons proliferation. I felt like my work contributed to the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in a meaningful way and I was treated like a real part of the center.

The most positive experience of this internship was learning about all the different topics within nonproliferation from the lectures. If something particularly interested us from the lectures, we could pursue independent research on the topic, incorporate it into our tasks, or discuss it further with the lecturer. We received a very comprehensive introduction to the field of nonproliferation and learned some of the technical aspects along with the policy.”