NOVA Nighthawks Participate with National Security Experts at AU, UC Berkeley Collaborative Conference

April 12, 2023 / Our Nighthawks

In February 2023, Dr. Rima Gulshan received an invitation from American University to bring a delegation of NOVA students to an important collaborative event with The Sine Institute of Policy and Politics and The Center for Security in Politics, UC Berkeley. Annandale Campus and Community Outreach Coordinator Tank McCarl and Annandale English Professor Rima Gulshan led a delegation of 20 NOVA students to Washington, D.C. on March 29.

Annandale Provost Dr. Diane Mucci and LASS Dean Jennifer Daniels gave a warm send off to the students which really boosted their morale and instilled them with positive energy. The students were ready to show the world just how high Nighthawks soar!

The Sine Institute of Policy and Politics at American University and the Center for Security in Politics at UC Berkley, inaugurated a pilot program on the East Coast called the Uncommon Table. The Uncommon Table included a panel presentation and then a dinner discussion with participants. This initiative brought national security experts, along with 60 students–20 from each of the three participating institutions. Bringing students from different backgrounds together at the “Uncommon Table” allowed them to find shared unity. As the opening remarks for the event best put it, “We find ourselves in a moment of extreme polarization, revitalized prejudices and an inability to discuss opposing views and find common ground under the banner of our shared experience.”

The panel specifically discussed how we’ve lost sight of the social compact between citizens and our democratic institutions, how national security is changing and evolving to keep up with new risks to the homeland, and how we as American citizens can work together to create a more resilient country and better future.

The panel included:  

  • Hon. Janet Napolitano, founder and faculty director for the Center for Security in Politics Berkeley and Third U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security
  • Richard Fontaine, chief executive officer, Center for a New American Security
  • Cornell Belcher, president, Brilliant Corners Research & Strategies
  • Senator Tim Kaine, D-VA

Our NOVA students actively engaged in discussion with national level policy and security experts, members of the panel, students from American University and students from UC Berkeley.

Our students exhibited confidence along with critical thinking skills as they conducted themselves professionally, treating others with utmost respect as they engaged in a dialogue with participants with opposing viewpoints.

This is the power of our Nighthawks.

Standing outside the Annandale CFH Building, from left to right: Jennifer Daniels, dean of LASS; Diane Mucci, AN provost; Student Delegation; front row right, Rima Gulshan; second row right, Matthew “Tank” McCarl, AN community outreach coordinator.

Submitted by:
Rima Gulshan, AN-English, RGulshan@nvcc.edu