Erik is a 2nd year MPA candidate who seeks a career in one of the international relations arms of the U.S. government where he hopes to meaningfully contribute to conflict resolution and prevention. This summer, Erik learned R programming at the Political Violence Lab in D.C. where he was able to work with Department of Defense data from Afghanistan to find the impact of Taliban leadership removal through targeted killing by coalition forces. Before coming to Princeton, Erik served for six years as an enlisted Marine Corps infantryman, with combat deployments to Iraq & Afghanistan, and finished his bachelor’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania after completing community college. Born and raised in Hawaii, Erik enjoys surfing and exercising regularly.