Wickersham Program People
This program takes its name from Warren Wickersham who generously agreed to subsidize the cost of Duke undergraduates attending TISS functions. Undergraduates from UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University are funded from outher sources.
Wickersham Scholars are entitled to attend all our functions at no-cost. They are added to our list serv and our roster of members. We admit about a dozen new members each year. Students who join this group need to find a faculty member willing to attest to their sincere interest in security studies and their intellectual capabilities. We invite faculty members to nominate any students they think will benefit from membership in our organization. We also permit undergraduates themselves to initiate the process by contacting Carolyn Pumphrey and naming a possible sponsor.
The program provides an invaluable opportunity for undergraduates to enrich their educational experience and we warmly encourage them to apply.
Letter from a Wickersham Scholar
Early in my sophomore year at the University of North Carolina, I was invited to join TISS as an undergraduate through the Wickersham and Millennium Scholars program. I arrived at my first lecture, half an hour early, dressed in what I deemed to be my most "responsible and intelligent looking" black pants suit. I was praying fervently that I would remember who the president of Russia was and why the Israelis and Palestinians were fighting again. At the same time I was trying hard not to spill my coffee on the nearest Foreign Service Officer. Over the past two years, I have had the opportunity to shed most of my initial undergraduate self-consciousness, and to take part in some truly amazing dinner conversations and conference discussions. TISS has given me the chance to learn from some of the top professionals in the security establishment. I have not personally engaged in any violent conflicts (unless you count my struggles with the color copier at the Franklin Center). But I have lived vicariously through the experiences of the many military officers who participate in TISS programs. Undergraduates do not always get the chance to study critical issues in depth and from a variety of different points of view. TISS introduced me to an interdisciplinary perspective which will better permit me to explore the multi-faceted conflicts that our world faces. I warmly encourage professors to offer other interested students a similar opportunity and nominate them as Wickersham Scholar. As graduation draws ever nearer, I brush off my "most responsible suit" once again to prepare for my next tentative steps into the "real world." I cannot help but feel that my fellowship with TISS has greatly influenced both my perspective on the international system, and my future goals.
Heather Messera, PWAD, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2003
(Currently a Staff Member of the House Armed Services Committee)
