First India, Next the World: Madhumita Gupta’s Story of Determination and Drive
Madhumita Gupta had a long and successful career serving as a Foreign Service National with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Her background and upbringing played a key role in making her the person she became. She grew up in a household that was ... Read More
A Gift from Nixon: A Moon Pebble for Each Head of State
Almost two years ago, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk sold the first ticket to the moon. A few months later, on January 3, 2019, a Chinese spacecraft named Chang'e 4 became the first robotic mission to land on the far side of the moon. Since then, both an Israeli ship and an Ind... Read More
A Failure of American Ideology?—The Spread of Communism in South America and the International Sphere
The United States’ war on Communism has crucially shaped much of our foreign policy today. Since the First Red Scare roughly a century ago, we have passed laws, fought wars, and set up international institutions—all in the name of preventing its proliferation. Whe... Read More
Out with the Old, in with the New—Celebrating Georgian Independence
Every American is familiar with the excitement and patriotism that sweeps across the nation on the Fourth of July. Many spend the day with family and friends, eating BBQ, and watching the fireworks explode in the night sky. Around the world, different peoples celebrat... Read More
From the Ground Up: USAID in Post-Soviet Russia
Six months after the fall of the Soviet Union, James (Jim) Norris became the USAID mission director in Russia. Not long before he set foot on Russian soil, though, the hammer and sickle flag was still flying over the Kremlin and Mikhail Gorbachev was still in office. ... Read More