From February 15 to 18, 2024, four Texas State students participated in the 69th annual Student Conference on National Affairs (SCONA) at Texas A&M University in College Station.
Two political science majors, Zoe Williams and Matthew Koi, were joined by International Studies majors, Antia Fuertes Bueno and Austin White, at event which connects delegates from universities across both the nation and the world. Each year, MSC SCONA discusses a different topic of national importance, giving delegates the chance to interact with the nation’s highest academic scholars, government officials, and well-known public figures. This year’s speaker’s included Lt. Gen. Dimitri Henry, Director of Intelligence for the Joint Chiefs, Dr. James Peery, Director of Sandia National Labs, and Dr. Peter D. Haynes, Deputy Director of Commander’s Action Group, Army Futures Command.
The four bobcats participated in roundtables on various topics relating to US national security and contributed to policy papers that they later presented. Koi’s roundtable “By The People, For The People: Domestic Electoral Reform,” was the winning roundtable for the American Domestic Policy Concentration and among the four finalists for best presentation/policy paper. The students thoroughly enjoyed the experience and learned a lot from the expert facilitators.
Fuertes Bueno remarked: “It was an amazing experience, the friends I made in my roundtable are friendships that I will cherish and work on for the rest of my life.” White added that “due to SCONAs credibility, scale, and of course the Aggie spirit of tradition, there is a wide variety of experts from varying backgrounds that help to foster and guide the next generation of leaders.”
