Waynesburg University sophomore Lana Jordan recently participated in The Washington Center’s National Security Seminar in Washington, D.C., from May 16 through May 24.
“Being accepted to this event was a really amazing first step into the professional world of law enforcement and government work,” said Jordan, a criminal justice major. “Having just finished my sophomore year, I have a pretty good idea of where I want to go with my career, but this experience really gave me the chance to hone my plan and get that first foot in the door.”
Washington, D.C., is a huge hub for all forms of criminal justice and law initiatives, from federal agencies to nonprofits to think tanks, and getting to be right at the center of all of that was amazing."
As a part of the National Security Seminar, Jordan spent a week alongside other college students from across the country to learn about and discuss topics concerning national security challenges faced in the world today.
The seminar was broken down into three different components: plenary sessions featuring experts in public national security, educational briefings and small group discussions led by faculty leaders.
Through coursework taken within Waynesburg’s criminal justice program, Jordan said she felt prepared to engage in the topics discussed during the seminar.
“This past semester at WU, I took private security with Professor Tanda and a lot of the information from that course played a big part of the discussion,” explained Jordan. “As the conference was on the topic of national security, there was a lot of discourse on where to draw the line between personal security and national security. There's no set-in-stone answer to that, but my studies with Tanda really prepared me to have these conversations.”
For any students presented with the opportunity, Jordan said she would “highly recommend attending an event with The Washington Center.”
In addition to the great connections she made, being able to explore and observe the professional atmosphere of the city was Jordan’s favorite part of participating in the seminar.
“Washington, D.C., is a huge hub for all forms of criminal justice and law initiatives, from federal agencies to nonprofits to think tanks, and getting to be right at the center of all of that was amazing,” said Jordan.
