Military Studies and Meetings on Capitol Hill

Max Castillo
Master of Arts ’17
Strategic Studies

After working for a year post-graduation, Max applied to graduate schools with the intention of eventually working in the federal government. He decided to apply to Johns SAIS specifically as per the recommendation of one of his undergraduate professors. After researching and discovering the Strategic Studies program, he decided that SAIS offered courses that aligned closely with his interests in military affairs and strategy and moved away from North Carolina for the first time to Washington, DC to begin his graduate studies.

Max works part time as an assistant in the Office of Dean Vali Nasr, cooks whenever he gets the chance, and hopes to find an opportunity to start playing racquetball again. Working in the Dean’s Office has given him a lot of opportunities to meet important people, but perhaps the most memorable so far has been traveling to Capitol Hill with his coworkers to arrange future Dean’s Speaker Series events involving Senators in committees relevant to the school’s community.

After graduating, Max would like to pursue a career at the US Department of State, but he is still open to other possibilities.