“Since I was young, I've always believed in the idea of service, being part of something greater, and helping other people in whatever way I can. That drive for service first pushed me in the direction of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), and it also pushed me towards majoring in SPIA. I strongly feel connected to the SPIA community and the community of scholars here, so I decided to run for the student advisory committee (SAC). I wanted to be an advocate for other people in a similar position to make improvements where I saw room for improvements. One program that I've been really heavily involved with on SAC is the Policy Pathways Mentorship Program, matching graduate students with undergrad students who have similar interests in policy and career trajectory. Over the course of my ROTC and academic career, I've been increasingly pointed in the direction of military justice, the law of war, and operational law, and I think the department has been very formative in my academic understanding of the world. I'm really grateful to SPIA for, in these formative academic years, instilling in me a philosophy of serving others through public policy. Last fall, I applied for and was awarded an educational delay from the military, so they have allowed me to defer my four-year service obligation until after I've completed law school. Once I graduate from law school and pass the bar, I will come back to the Army and do my four years of service as a judge advocate.” Vincent Jiang ’25.