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!
TFAS Public Policy Fellows Visit the Russell Kirk Center
Last week, TFAS Public Policy Fellows traveled to Mecosta, Michigan, to visit the ancestral home of Russell Kirk. This year’s fellows consist of 20 young professionals from The Washington Free Beacon, National Review, the Hudson Institute, the American Enterprise Institute, Parents Defending Education and legislative aides in Washington, D.C.
During the retreat, the Fellows explored the American political tradition discussed in “The Roots of American Order” and Kirk’s other writings.
Reflecting on the retreat, one fellow remarked: “I cannot emphasize enough how grateful I am for this weekend. I was introduced to so many new perspectives and lines of thinking that have created completely new questions for me.”
Read more about the Public Policy Fellow’s visit to the Russell Kirk Center here.
A Day in the Life of a TFAS Intern
This past summer, three TFAS students – Eden Briley ’23, Joel Ross ’23 and Rianna Ramsey ’23 spent the summer in Washington, D.C., participating in TFAS D.C. Academic Internship Programs while interning at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The TFAS Recruitment + Admissions team prepared a short video highlighting students shared insights about their internship and TFAS experience.
“My internship has definitely expanded my thoughts of what I want and can do,” said Ross. “It’s given me more focus on what my path will be, while also giving me the opportunity to give back knowledge to my community.”
Watch the full video below or on YouTube.
We Must Continue to Teach and Learn from Adam Smith
TFAS Vice President of Academic Affairs and George and Sally Mayer Fellow Dr. Anne Bradley recently wrote a piece for National Review about why Adam Smith is still so prevalent in today’s society. Dr. Bradley believes that he still has so much to teach us because of his deep understanding of human nature. She always begins her economics lectures with a lesson from Adam Smith as he provides a framework for what we now call the economic way of thinking
“Whether I am teaching undergraduate or graduate students, we always begin with human nature and Adam Smith,” said Dr. Bradley. “We can’t start with trade deficits or even demand curves before we understand what we are trying to do as economists.”
Read more of Dr. Bradley’s insights here.
Post of the Week
Last month, TFAS hosted the 2023 TFAS Leadership Summit in Park City, Utah, where TFAS supporters, alumni and friends gathered to hear from a number of distinguished speakers about the alarming trends of creeping socialism, abuses of power and censorship that pose a threat to the rule of law and individual freedoms.
During the summit, TFAS President Roger Ream ’76 sat with three 2023 TFAS alumnae: Tiffany Parasca ’23, Deniza Toma ’23, and Lyrah Panarigan ’23, to discuss their various paths to TFAS as well as the powerful impact the TFAS Academic Internship Program had on them.
Lyrah expressed her gratitude for the TFAS experience and the opportunity on Instagram . You can watch and listen to the full episode here.
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TFAS Faculty, Alumni, Supporters in the News
Alexandra Hudson’s, Novak ’19, new book, “” was reviewed for the Acton Institute.
Tara Isabella Burton’s, Novak ’20, new book “Self-Made: Creating Our Identities from Da Vinci to the Kardashians” was reviewed by Rachel Lu, Novak ’15, for Law & Liberty.
Ally Hibben ’18 was promoted to be deputy chief of staff for Rep. Cliff Bentz of Oregon.
Neil Vigdor ’98 joins Vanderbilt University’s 2023 class of the Student Media Hall of Fame for his successful career as a journalist.
Yalun Feng ’17 was featured in Vanderbilt University’s article about his work with environmental issues and working with finance, oil and gas industries.
Faysal Itani ’03, ’06 wrote a piece for New Lines Magazine about the meaning and potential implications of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah’s speech last week.
Jacob Warren ’20 started a new position as a paralegal specialist for the Federal Trade Commission.
Michael Lucchese, PPF ’22, will be the moderator of a panel on emerging conservative thinkers at the 70th anniversary of The Conservative Mind on December 5 in Washington, D.C.
Daniel Di Martino, Novak ’23, was interviewed for Newsmax about the campus events surrounding the Hamas terrorist attacks.
Kusi Hornberger ’01, ’02 was interviewed for Dalberg Global Development Advisors about his new book, “Scaling Impact: Financing and Investment for a Better World.”
Joseph Simonson, Novak ’22, wrote a piece for The Washington Free Beacon about President Biden’s judicial nominee for the United States District Judge of New Jersey.
Kenny Xu, Novak ’21, was interviewed on Fox and Friends about his campaign in North Carolina and how Asian American candidates want to save the American dream.
Joseph Simonson, Novak ’22, wrote an article for The Washington Free Beacon about Senate Republicans showing their unified support for providing aid to Israel as Democrats call for a ceasefire.
Mladen Mrdalj ’04, ’06 wrote an article about the West’s values-based foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas for the National Interest.
Jason Willick, Novak ’17, wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post about the war in Ukraine.
Elliot Kaufman, Rago ’18, wrote an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal discussing former President Barack Obama’s statements on Hamas and Israel.
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