We hope you enjoy these news stories about TFAS activities, alumni and events this week. Sign up to receive TFAS updates, and visit us on social media for additional up-to-the-moment TFAS news!
Transcontinental TFAS Couples: Alumni Share their Love Stories
TFAS has drawn hundreds of students together each year for more than five decades. Oftentimes, students bond with one another and maintain friendships long after their programs end. Sometimes, those friendships grow into romantic relationships and love stories begin! More than 100 TFAS alumni couples have formed over the years, and the number just keeps growing.
For Valentine’s Day this year, TFAS caught up with three alumni couples to hear about their lives after their time as TFAS students. Angela and Craig Goolsby met at the TFAS Business + Government Relations track in Washington, D.C., in 1997. They kept in touch after the summer ended, got married two years later, and have been together ever since! Amanda and Kris Munger met at TFAS in Washington, D.C., in 2010 and wed in 2017. Tia Scoggan and Boudewijn van Werven met during the 2018 D.C. summer program and got married in 2021.
Kris and Amanda may not agree on the exact moment they first met, but they know they immediately connected during their TFAS program. They remember wanting to learn everything about each other and trying to spend as much time together as possible.
“After we left our summer at TFAS, we had to put in the effort to make a cross-continental relationship work,” she said. “He went above and beyond sending me handwritten letters every day while living in London. In the decade that we’ve been together, he’s supported me and been my biggest cheerleader in every decision I have made, especially surrounding my career. He makes me smile, laugh and feel totally at ease.”
Read more TFAS love stories at TFAS.org/LoveStories.
Exclusive Lecture: Capitalism, Socialism and Arguments for Liberty
TFAS students, supporters and friends heard a special lecture from Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky on Wednesday, Feb. 2. In this exclusive webinar, Sen. Paul delivered timely remarks on “Capitalism, Socialism and Arguments for Liberty,” followed by a Q&A session.
The senator took a moment from a full day of votes and meetings to give attendees an overview of the definitions of liberty and what a true “limited government” looks like in action. He shared why he believes less government allows for more freedom, and what that means for citizens’ day to day lives.
When speaking on current events and government mandates, Paul reminded attendees that “central planning doesn’t work,” and that success in America happens when men and women are free to make their own choices.
“Liberty brings people together because it allows us to have different opinions, and that’s a good thing,” he said.
To watch the webinar, click the video below:
Post of the Week
Amy Schutte ’07 reflected on her TFAS summer in Washington, D.C., as she was sworn in as Representative Laurie Lickley’s temporary substitute in the Idaho State Legislature on Feb. 7. Read her full tribute to TFAS on Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
QUICK LINKS
TFAS Trustee and Founder of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council Paula Dobriansky shares the importance of the Council’s work with women and girls in Afghanistan in an interview with the George W. Bush Presidential Center.
Frederico Bartels, PPF ’18, was selected as a 2022 Shawn Brimley Next Generation National Security Fellow by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).
The National Communication Association highlighted Claire Alfree ’21 for her participation in the TFAS D.C. Academic Internship Program and internship with Hearst Television’s Washington News Bureau.
Kenny Xu, Novak ’21, opines for The Spectator World on the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard case concerning Asian American admissions and the affirmative action program at Harvard University.
Kurt Couchman ’02, PPF ’07, writes for RealClear Policy on how preventing government shutdowns can improve the appropriations process.
Naomi Schaefer Riley, Novak ’01, coauthors a piece for National Review on how COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have led college students to choose universities with more affordable tuition rates.
Peter Suderman, Novak ’10, writes for Reason on how “universal” pre-kindergarten education could result in worse education for students.
Bill Wirtz ’17 reports on the potential effects of a “one-size-fits-all” agriculture policy on inflation rates in the U.S. for InsideSources.
TFAS Grewcock Senior Scholar Dr. Donald Devine opines on federalism and the 14th amendment in a piece for Law & Liberty.
Thomas Fodor ’18 is now the program operations coordinator for Free the Facts, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating young Americans on policy and encouraging them to take action.
Alexander Roberts ’21 writes for Citizens Journal on NATO and the new world order.
Katherine Mangu-Ward, Novak ’05, was a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday, Feb. 4.
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