Landon Hankins, who will graduate in December from Howard Payne University’s Guy D. Newman Honors Academy: The Program for Civic Leadership and Public Policy (formerly the Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom), spent the summer interning in Washington, D.C., with the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies (CHDS). Hankins’ stay in D.C. was funded through the Honors Academy, which provides students with stipends to aid in the cost of completing internships for their majors.

“The funds help students enhance their education by applying what they have learned in the classroom to a real-life setting,” said Dr. Justin Murphy, dean of the School of Humanities and director of the Honors Academy.

Hankins travelled to D.C. through The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) program, which organized his living arrangements, classes for the semester and other activities. During the summer, he attended two classes – Economics & Public Policy and American Political Thought –  at George Mason University’s Arlington campus. TFAS participants were housed on The George Washington University campus in Foggy Bottom, just blocks from many memorials and other significant D.C. locations.

Hankins also had the opportunity to attend a variety of lectures by individuals such as former Superior Court Judge Andrew Napolitano, U.S. Senator Rand Paul, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton and others. In addition, he was able to sit in on several sessions of the CHDS’s Caribbean Defense and Security Course.

“Needless to say, my summer experience was invaluable, and I am very thankful for the opportunities and the support given by the Honors Academy,” stated Hankins.

Pictured above is Landon Hankins.