Noah Crafts, IAML 2021, Stamps President’s Scholar and Nunn School Research Grant
What degree are you pursuing in the Nunn School? Are you being supported by any scholarships or fellowships? If so, which ones?
I am pursuing a bachelor’s in international affairs and modern languages with a minor in computer science. I am grateful to be a recipient of the Stamps Presidential Scholarship and was previously supported by a Nunn School research grant during my first year.
If given the opportunity, why would you choose the Nunn School again for your education?
My initial choice to study at the Nunn School was motivated by its focus on the intersection of international affairs and technology. The Nunn School is placed within an institute that has traditionally focused on computer science and engineering. The school allows students to take full advantage of this unique situation, by equipping them with technical and specialized knowledge not readily achievable in international affairs programs at liberal arts-focused schools. As an applicant with a previous background in computer science, a deciding factor for me was that I could study international affairs while simultaneously nurturing and applying my technical skills.
What motivated your choice or has been the most impactful so far?
I think the primary way in which the Nunn School has prepared me to tackle emerging global challenges is through its very practical, hands-on approach. Professors at the Nunn School understand that when working with an ever-changing world, theory can aid us, but it cannot always provide us with an easy answer when new challenges appear. The highlights of my time within the Nunn School have been the simulations in which I have taken part. In these simulations, we are tasked with negotiating, researching, and devising a strategy and policy to achieve some goal, such as negotiating a nuclear weapons treaty. Activities such as these serve to prepare us to think on our feet and be ready to overcome any challenges that we encounter.
In an environment of increasingly complicated global challenges, what do you feel the Nunn School has done to prepare you to tackle these challenges?
In my first year at Georgia Tech, I received a Nunn School research grant through which I had the opportunity to work closely with a Nunn School professor, Dr. Dalton Lin. Through this grant, I developed a research project that I was given the honor of presenting to the Nunn School Advisory Board in Washington, DC in front of leading academics, researchers, diplomats, and industry experts. Because of my research, I was recruited as a research assistant on the China side of an inter-institution project on statecraft and non-military coercion. I have had the opportunity to meet, discuss, and collaborate with experts from all corners of the globe. In my second year at Georgia Tech, I was awarded the prestigious Stamps President’s Scholarship. This scholarship has afforded me the freedom to continue my studies without being incumbered with student debt. Additionally, it has allowed me to collaborate with other like-minded members of the Georgia Tech community. All of these opportunities and the doors that they have opened for me were possible because of the Stamps President’s Scholarship and the Nunn School grant I was awarded at Georgia Tech.