Alumna Ryan Elizabeth Murphy ’22 Interns at Department of Defense

Ryan Elizabeth Murphy ’22 is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in International Relations with minors in East Asian Civilizations and French & Francophone Studies. She recently came back to Baldwin to speak to students in Dr. Athan Biss’ Constitutional Law class about her experience studying politics and her internship experiences.

 

After taking Penn’s Counterintelligence course, she developed a deep interest in international security and diplomacy, with a particular focus on U.S.-China relations. At Penn, she developed her research skills as a Research Assistant at Perry World House, where she conducted research under Professor Beth Simmons’s Borders and Boundaries project. She analyzed U.S. Congressional speeches on their impact on border politics and policies. On a similar project, she independently conducted policy analyses on human trafficking, evaluating legislative frameworks and international agreements successes and failures in developing effective global strategies for combating the issue.

 

This past summer, Ryan interned with the Department of Defense's Defense Counterintelligence Security Agency, where she handled classified information and supported security clearance investigations for Air Force personnel. She earned a Top-Secret Security Clearance and collaborated with the lead agent to brief cases, develop investigation strategies and assist in executing background checks. Ryan was responsible for auditing reports, ensuring proper classification and compliance with security protocols, and contributing to the strategic planning of investigative processes.

 

The summer before, she taught French and assisted in administrative tasks at an all-girls school in rural Ghana with Cocoa360.

 

Looking ahead, Ryan plans to study abroad in Australia, where she will continue honing her Chinese language skills and deepening her understanding of international relations. She aspires to pursue a career in security and counterintelligence, focusing on the intersection of global security and diplomacy.

 

She is grateful for her time at Baldwin, which provided her with the resources and confidence to navigate a traditionally male-dominated field. She credits Baldwin’s outstanding teachers, particularly Dr. Biss, whose politics course first sparked her curiosity about the world of politics.