Samuel Barnett ’19 has been named one of 11 junior fellows by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Barnett, whose studies focus on national security and geopolitics, will spend his fellowship year working with Carnegie’s executive office on issues of U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy.

“Growing up in post-9/11 New York, I was always drawn to issues of the role the U.S. could play in the world as a force for good, and I’ve always been looking for opportunities to learn more,” Barnett said. “I am really excited to get into the weeds of really complex policy issues, but I’m also really hoping to learn from some of the best foreign policy and national security minds in the world.”

Barnett is writing an honors thesis on transnational terrorism, and he has minors in history and Near Eastern studies. While studying abroad in spring 2018 he served as a foreign affairs fellow in the British Parliament. In past summers, he has worked as a policy intern at the Truman National Security Project and the Center for International Policy, both in Washington, D.C.

On campus, he works at the Visitor Relations Office and serves on the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Student Advisory Council.

The James C. Gaither Junior Fellows Program provides a year of paid research experience to fellows working on projects such as democracy building, immigration, cyberpolicy, nuclear policy, energy and climate change, Asia and the Middle East. Junior fellows are selected from an applicant pool from nearly 400 colleges and universities.

Barnett is the ninth Cornell senior since 2000 to win this award.