By the age of 15, Noah Kurzenhauser was enrolled in college courses. By 18, he graduated from Clackamas Community College with an associate's degree focused on political science.
“It allowed me to kind of figure out what I want to do at a very young age,” he said.
His pathway toward a career in politics was clear. He transferred to Portland State University to continue studying political science and take the next step in pursuing a master’s in public policy. But one class changed everything.
“I took a class with Dr. Joshua Eastin, who's a professor that has worked on topics such as political violence, terrorism, and non-state actors. Before that I hadn't been really exposed to insurgent groups, political violence in developing countries, and regimes and instability,” Kurzenhauser said. “But I know now this is my field.”
With friends in the Middle East — friends he met through various work in the virtual exchange program sector and as one of 10 U.S. students chosen for the Iraqi Young Leaders program — Kurzenhauser has a unique perspective when studying political violence. Many of his friends are living through the events he’s studying.
“I think especially terrorism is such an important issue right now that we need more bright minds, more nuance, and critical ideas because some of the stuff that's been going on right now in the status quo, really hasn't been working,” he said.
His altered path now heads toward a career within the intelligence community, furthering U.S. national security objectives both domestically and abroad.
But if Kurzenhauser wasn’t focused on international security, he’d pursue a career in special education. Over the years, he’s volunteered with Bike First!, a program that teaches children with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities to independently ride a bike.
“It’s a really impactful experience,” he said. “I have lots of dreams and goals and such but the one thing I know for certain is that I want to adopt a child with Down syndrome one day. I'm not using those skills for my career, so I feel like, why don't I use those skills in my own personal life.”
What was your journey to PSU?
I had a unique arrangement. By taking community college classes, I was fulfilling my high school requirements for my diploma at Summit Learning Charter. I was able to graduate with both my associates and my high school diploma in the spring of 2019. PSU has a lot of great connections with numerous community colleges, which makes it really easy to transfer.
What is your favorite memory of PSU?
It's not really specific, but I really enjoyed the rec basketball league at PSU. And the reason for that is, as somebody who's really struggled to find balance in my life, I was really looking for opportunities to kind of get outside the academic zone. And I love basketball and being able to participate in the rec league allowed me to meet a lot of really interesting people and I made a lot of friends.
What are your goals post-graduation?
I'm pursuing a master's in Security Policy Studies at George Washington University's Elliott school in D.C. I’m very blessed to be going to one of the top programs in the world, it's super exciting to me and it's a huge leap from PSU. Two fully different environments but I plan to pursue national security and counterterrorism and I hope to work in the intelligence community after graduation.
A lot of my research now works in the Middle East, but I’m interested in international crime. My main goal is to work for the NSA. But I'm really keeping my options open.
What’s the best piece of advice you would give to future students?
I strongly believe that one of the only reasons I've been successful here at PSU is because I've made so many connections with faculty, my advisor, fellow peers who are in the workforce. It's really imperative that you connect with people and put yourself out there.
I know for a lot of people it can be a little bit frightening, a little bit scary to put yourself out there, but try sending an email to make a connection. More often than not, the people that you're reaching out to are going to be more than willing to facilitate those connections.
What would you like to share about navigating the pandemic while completing your degree?
I think on a surface level, you know the grades are good, school is good, working is good. Ultimately though, it's been pretty challenging. I'm not a big fan of Zoom learning.
I will say although it's been tough it's really allowed me to look inward and figure out what I need to do to take care of myself and stay healthy both mentally and physically.
But being here at PSU, everybody's in the same boat, so it's been really cool to have that support network among students.