Fourth-year Cara Wilson awarded Carnegie Fellowship for nuclear policy work

University of Chicago fourth-year student Cara Wilson has been selected by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to take part in its James C. Gaither Junior Fellows Program.

The program provides a yearlong fellowship to high-achieving college graduates to work in Washington, D.C. as research assistants to Carnegie’s senior scholars. Starting this fall, Wilson will assist the nonpartisan international affairs think tank in their nuclear policy division.

A Public Policy and Middle Eastern Studies major, Wilson’s interest in nuclear policy and diplomacy blossomed after taking a class on national security strategy at UChicago. An internship with think-tank Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) last summer gave them hands-on experience in the field.

“I was lucky to end up at NTI,” Wilson said. “They took a chance on me because I had no previous experience with nuclear policy, but I knew I was really interested. NTI was my gateway into the professional community that studies the important topics of nonproliferation and deterrence.”

Later that summer, she interned with the U.S. Department of State in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs division and witnessed statecraft first-hand.

“What does it look like to be there for the rollout of a program? What does it look like to be in the room when they are bringing together two different countries that might have opposing views? That was my opportunity to see diplomacy up close.”

Carnegie’s Nuclear Policy Program has a staff that represents 12 different nationalities and conducts research, builds relationships with lawmakers, and creates policy proposals that focus on deterrence, disarmament and security of nuclear dangers. Wilson hopes that they can conduct work that can help bring about change in today’s tense geopolitical atmosphere.

“I hope I can learn and be part of the varied research projects within the program,” she said. “I’ll do this with the hope that Carnegie and the other think tanks in Washington will really push an administration that’s facing a world in flux towards safer and more responsible nuclear policy decisions.”

The Carnegie fellowship caps off a collegiate career full of new challenges and opportunities for Wilson. At UChicago, she was a Critical Language Scholar who studied Arabic in Morocco and undertook archaeological fieldwork in Spain and Israel–all experiences that will inform their work going forward. 

“I feel like my academic journey was me trying things out that I thought were interesting,” they said. “I felt comfortable doing this because of the Core requirements that allowed me to explore different interests without being boxed in. So I feel really lucky that UChicago allowed me to explore academically, which prepared me for roles like this.”

Wilson was supported by the College’s Office of National Fellowships, which guides candidates through rigorous application processes and interview preparation for nationally competitive awards. The National Fellowships team helps students identify and articulate how their unique talents and distinctive paths prepare them to realize a better world.