AFCEA Intelligence Scholarship 2009 Graduate Recipients
(Each winner received $5,000)
Mr. Jeffrey Dean McCoy
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO
Mr. McCoy is currently enrolled in a combined Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree program in Aerospace Engineering Sciences with an emphasis in Bioastronautics. His research will focus on developing a means to protect humans from both natural and manmade radiation as he investigates the effects of different types of radiation on humans and their DNA. He plans to propose a method of protection that may be applied to either travelers in the space environment or defense and weapons officials on Earth. Mr. McCoy supplements his curricula with courses in the Vehicle Systems graduate program, which will ultimately allow him to design the hardware and structure of satellites. Mr. McCoy is employed part time by Lockheed Martin as a College Student Technical Senior Specialist, a classified position that helps develop Space-Based Infrared Systems. He also has held internships with the Boeing Company and NCR Corporation (now Teradata Corporation). Mr. McCoy plays the trombone and bassoon, participating in both the University’s Marching and Concert Bands; is co-founder of the University Rotary Club Chapter; is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; is a member of Tau Beta Pi (engineering honor society); and in 2007, taught autistic students how to rock climb.
Mr. David Jonathan Roberts
King’s College
London, UK
Mr. Roberts is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Intelligence and International Security while developing proficiency in Russian. His dissertation compares the emergence of the British Joint Intelligence Committee to the American Directorate of National Intelligence. While an undergraduate student at Dickenson College, he largely designed a personal curriculum, combining traditional international relations courses with the comparative study of foreign political institutions. This led to a course with retired Admiral Dennis Blair, an instructor at the school’s partner institution, the Army War College. His experience at King’s affords him similar opportunities – flexible courses specifically tailored around intelligence and a global perspective on issues. His exposure to various subject matter experts including John Nagl and Zbigniew Brzezinski adds a unique and rewarding element to his studies. Mr. Roberts serves as president, Lillian Penson Hall Residents Union, Intelligence MA Representative to King’s Department of War Studies Staff-Student Consultative Committee, and as a member of the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy.
Mr. Thomas Andrew Weis
The Institute of World Politics
Washington, DC
Mr. Weis is pursuing a Master’s degree in Strategic Intelligence Studies as well as independent study of Spanish and Farsi. He also currently works as a Defense Intelligence Agency Intern for the Latin America Division of the Defense Attaché and Overt Sources Branch of the Directorate for Human Intelligence. He has gained extensive experience with a variety of internships at the Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security. As an undergraduate at The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, his article entitled, “Defining Terrorism in the International Community,” was selected for publication in the school’s journal The Globe. Mr. Weis plans to serve as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Marine Corps upon completion of his graduate studies prior to a long-awaited career with the CIA. He plays twice a week on the Fairfax County Men’s Ice Hockey team while also preparing for his first Amateur Bodybuilding competition later this spring.
Click here to read the bios of the undergraduate recipients
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