We hope you enjoy these top news stories about TFAS activities, alumni and events this week. Please visit us on social media for additional up-to-the-moment TFAS news!
31st Annual TFAS Scholarship Dinner Recognizes Examples of Honorable Leadership
TFAS supporters, alumni and friends gathered on Sept. 14 at the 31st Annual TFAS Scholarship Awards Dinner to recognize the 2021 TFAS students and prominent leaders in the business and government relations community.
TFAS presented the Congressional Leadership Award to U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska and the Business Leadership Award to Suzanne Clark, President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, for their contributions to free enterprise and building up the next generation of leaders.
In his acceptance speech, the senator shared insight from his experience and explained the importance of the work TFAS does for the world’s youth. He elaborated on the meaning of good leadership and thanked the exceptional leaders who helped him along the way, including Judge James Buckley and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
“One of the things I admire most about The Fund for American Studies,” Sullivan said, “is that in the teaching of the principles, the focus all of you have is not just on limited government and free enterprise, but also on the need for what you call ‘honorable leadership.’”
Sullivan continued, discussing the value of service to one’s country, the importance of democracy, and the growing need for educational programs like TFAS. He noted the current inflection point in the battle of big ideas, particularly those relating to government. Democracy can be messy, he explained, but it remains the best governance system. For that reason, faith in it must remain.
“We need all of you, your commitment to American ideals of limited government, free markets and honorable leadership now more than ever,” Sullivan concluded. “And I really, really am honored by the award I received tonight.”
Read more about the dinner at TFAS.org/ScholarDinnerRecap.
TFAS Provides Exclusive Access to Networking Opportunities, Economic Education to Fall Program Students
On Aug. 27, TFAS welcomed a new cohort of young leaders to Washington, D.C., for the 2021 Capital Semester on Leadership + the American Presidency.
Held in partnership with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute, the Leadership + the American Presidency program offers future leaders in public service and politics the opportunity to explore their leadership potential through the lens of past American presidents.
Over the course of 13 weeks, participants from Hungary and the U.S. intern at various policy groups, congressional offices and think tanks across D.C. while taking courses for academic credit in international economics and government at George Mason University (GMU). Taught by world-class TFAS faculty including TFAS Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Anne Bradley, Richard Benedetto, Karen Czarnecki ’88, Gabriel Scheinmann and The Honorable Glenn Nye, these courses are designed to complement students’ internship experiences by teaching them how economic freedom can contribute to human flourishing.
Biola University student Mickaela Ramos ’21 shared that in the first month of the program, she has already noticed a difference in her leadership skills and perspective on global policy issues. She attributes this growth to her internship and TFAS coursework.
My internship experience coupled with my economics and public policy classes has really allowed me to build my skills not only as a writer and a leader, but as a citizen of this country.” – Mickaela Ramos ’21, Biola University
“I came to TFAS looking for the opportunity to hone my skills in leadership in Washington, D.C., and explore my future career,” Ramos said. “My internship experience coupled with my economics and public policy classes has really allowed me to build my skills not only as a writer and a leader, but as a citizen of this country.”
Read more about the first three weeks of the Capital Semester Fall program at TFAS.org/CSFall21.
Presenting The 2021-22 Robert Novak Journalism Fellows
TFAS is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2021-22 Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship: Kevin Daley, Emma Freire, Sonner Kehrt, Nate Hochman, Micah Meadowcroft, Oliver Wiseman and Kenny Xu.
The annual Fellowship provides early-career journalists the opportunity to pursue year-long projects on topics related to the principles of a free society through grant funding.
This year’s cohort of outstanding journalists from across the U.S. will dive into serious reporting on today’s most pressing issues. Fellows will explore several topics, including the background and effects of affirmative action, the rise of privatized and personal security, young conservative voter sentiment, how online connectivity affects humanity, the effects of classical education on civic responsibility, a study of “urban Republicans,” and race in American institutions.
TFAS Continuing Education Program Manger and new Novak Fellowship Program Manager Ryan Wolfe says this year’s Fellows are working to seek the truth in the spirit of the Fellowship’s namesake, Robert Novak.
“The Novak Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for young journalists to rise above day-to-day media fights and engage in deep reporting on important, yet overlooked, trends affecting our country,” Wolfe said. “Through this work, Fellows will exemplify the kind of journalism that Robert Novak practiced throughout his career: fearlessly questioning the dominant media narrative to get to the truth.”
Meet the 2021-22 Novak Fellows at TFAS.org/NovakFellows21.
TFAS President Roger Ream’s remarks from the 2021 Bradley Prize award ceremony are featured in The Wall Street Journal’s “Notable and Quotable.” In his remarks, Ream shared about the importance of economic education in future world leaders.
TFAS professor Donald Boudreaux draws from Ludwig von Mises’s writings and explains why the failure of socialism is an inevitable outcome in a piece for the American Institute for Economic Research.
TFAS alumna and senior editor at The Federalist, Mollie Hemingway, Novak ’04, received a 2021 Bradley Prize for her dedication to American exceptionalism.
TFAS Grewcock Senior Scholar Dr. Donald Devine writes about the bureaucracy of the Department of Defense in a piece for The American Spectator.
Jen Hale ’99, TFAS Journalism + Communications student, talks about her career as a journalist in Louisiana in a feature for WhereYat.com.
Read about the recipients of the 2021 Bradley Prize, including TFAS President Roger Ream, in the Daily Signal.
TFAS President Roger Ream was interviewed by alumnus Dan Proft ’93 and his co-host Amy Jacobson on Chicago’s Morning Answer about misperceptions of socialism amongst young people.
Naomi Schaefer Riley, Novak ’01, will be interviewed about her latest book, “No Way to Treat a Child: How the Foster Care System, Family Courts, and Racial Activists Are Wrecking Young Lives” at an event hosted by the American Enterprise Institute on Oct. 5.
Oliver Roberts, Law ’19, has started this month as an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates in New York.
Fed By Ravens Media interviewed Elise Amez-Droz, PPF ’19, about her recent piece on the budget’s impact on young people’s healthcare and economic future.
Alexis Black ’17, ’19 was named to the 2021 Forbes Next 1000 list for her dedication to helping create change for the future of foster youths in America.
Josh Sorbe ’18 has been selected as a 2021-2022 Truman-Albright Fellow by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.