Meet the official class of participants in Foundations of American Statecraft: Conflict, Foreign Policy, and Diplomacy — the first of many 10-week certification courses designed to be a tool for interns and staff in Washington, D.C.
Will Thibeau is a Catholic husband and father, Army veteran, and citizen deeply concerned about the history and trajectory of American foreign policy. Will serves as the Senior Director of Operations at The American Conservative. Will believes America has to rebuild her own country, and to the extent exerting influence is necessary to defend the homeland, she should project power in the Pacific and Central/South America. Will deployed multiple times with the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment, so he has an intimate understanding of the consequences and perils of pointless military intervention divorced from America’s national interest. At The American Conservative, Will hopes to chart a new path for conservative foreign policy decision makers.
Jesse Klauber is an MA candidate in International Relations at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and a current research assistant at The National Security Institute which is centered at George Mason University’s School of Law. As a student of international and domestic politics as well as history, Jesse has an active interest in US politics and foreign policy. He is currently focusing his studies on American national security with regional concentrations in the Middle East and Eastern Europe due to these regions having direct relevance to both present and future American foreign policy as well as being central to the American public psyche. Jesse is motivated by a conservativism that identifies and prioritizes American foreign policy goals with average American citizens in mind without sacrificing our character as a nation. This summer, Jesse will be serving as a legislative intern for New Jersey Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ).
August Desch is a recent graduate of the University of Notre Dame. He was a fellow with the Notre Dame international security center where he completed a 100 page thesis on Article II war powers. He has worked for a number of Hill offices and hopes to connect and learn with others with an interest in foreign affairs and conservative politics. He is particularly interested in China and NATO and great power competition in the 21st century.
Sascha Glaeser is a Research Associate at Defense Priorities. He focuses on U.S. grand strategy, international security, and transatlantic relations. Sascha is motivated to affect U.S. foreign policy in a realist direction to ensure security and prosperity for all Americans. He holds a Master of International Public Affairs and a Bachelor’s in International Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Cayden Connally is originally from the West Texas town of Midland and graduated in May 2021 from the University of Texas at Austin, with a major in government and a minor in philosophy of law. Outside of his work, Cayden enjoys reading, watching classic movies, visiting historic landmarks, and engaging in deep discussions. When it comes to foreign policy, his geopolitical areas of interest include Eastern Europe and Latin America because of the immense impact these regions have on the American economy and way of life. Cayden adheres to a classical conservatism that strives to strike the proper balance between firm adherence to moral principle and prudence aimed at what is achievable. He is currently working as a Legislative Correspondent for Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.
Bradley Devlin currently serves as The American Conservative’s staff reporter. Before joining TAC in September of 2021, Bradley was an analysis reporter for the Daily Caller. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Political Economics. As a reporter and a student, Bradley’s primary area of interest has been Europe, whose various crisis over the last decade have laid bare the intrinsic contradictions of global liberal modernity.
Kye Laughter is a native of Hendersonville, NC and a graduate of North Carolina State University where he received a dual degree in Public Relations and History. Kye is interested in China, Southeast Asia, Europe and is motivated by the foreign policy outlined by Pat Buchanan. Kye considers the global conservative movement to be one that should promote non-interventionism, strong community, and traditional values. Kye is currently studying for his Masters Degree in History through the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and works as a Legislative Correspondent in the Office of Congressman Dan Bishop.
Ian McGrew is a Grove City College graduate, Magna Cum Laude, who majored in Political Science and minored in National Security Studies. With a focus on US-China relations, Ian understands the international system to be plagued by great power relations, where states are focused on survival. As an offensive realist, Ian is striving to be a voice and proponent of America first foreign policy. He is concerned about the lasting effects of liberal internationalism on the United States’ status and representation on the international stage.
Sharan Kumar graduated from Boston University in May 2021, earning a degree in International Relations and Economics with a concentration in Security Studies. Sharan is from Arlington, Virginia, and has always had a keen interest in national security and public policy issues. His foreign policy focus is in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as it is an important vector for emerging security threats and global trade. Most recently, Sharan was a policy intern in Senator Josh Hawley’s DC office. He previously interned for the Heritage Foundation in their Center for International Trade and Economics (CITE) department and is also a Heritage Academy fellow. Sharan has written articles and op-eds covering national security issues for The Daily Signal and The Daily Caller.
Stephan Kapustka is from Glastonbury, Connecticut. He majored in political science at Quinnipiac where he chaired the school’s College Republicans chapter for two years and maintained a regular column with the school newspaper. Later, he interned with Congressman Jim Banks. From as early as he’s thought about politics, foreign policy realism and restraint have been central to his vision, and the earliest vaguely political tracts he read were from Pat Buchanan. He believes a proper understanding of America’s interests abroad is critical for the future of conservatism and of the country.