Statement of Purpose – STRATFOR Internship – Summer 2010



Statement of Purpose – STRATFOR Internship – Summer 2010

I come from an Eastern European background, having been born and partially raised in the Ukraine. Since an early age, I have been very interested in learning about the cultures, languages, and ideas of the world and have taken every opportunity to progress this learning. This past fall of 2009, I have started the Global Policy Studies masters program at the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs. My specialization at the LBJ School reflects my academic and professional interest – Security, Law, and Diplomacy, with a focus on Eastern Europe/Russia/Eurasia. For my undergraduate degree I studied political science at American University in Washington, DC.

I’m interested in working for STRATFOR because I want to gain firsthand experience in meaningful intelligence gathering and analysis production to further expand my knowledge of the world as a whole and the intelligence world specifically. Furthermore, an internship with STRATFOR will, hopefully, give me a boost in finding full-time employment in the intelligence gathering/analysis or national/global security arenas with federal or state agencies or private consulting firms upon graduation from the LBJ School.

The reason I believe I will make an excellent intern is because I have had two plus years of full-time work experience in government and private sectors working in small and large offices on tasks that ranged from foreign language translation and analysis to research, legal case management, and attorney support. My past superiors would describe me as a hardworking and dedicated individual, willing to undertake any type of project, on short notice or with months of preparation. The range of my work experience has honed my analytical and research skills and my project organization and problem-solving abilities. Also, each previous employment opportunity has provided me with prospects to expand my professional writing repertoire by requiring me to adapt to each respective style, requirement, and need.

Specifically, my professional background includes working as a paralegal in a busy Washington, DC law firm on financial services cases, and completing extensive lobbying and government relations research and analysis assignments.

My most valuable professional experience, and the one most relevant to my potential work at STRATFOR, was interning at the US Department of Justice’s Office of Special Investigations. At OSI, my responsibilities included primary-source document translation, research, and analysis. I got a chance to use my knowledge of the Russian language and culture to assist the US government in apprehending past international war criminals.

As has already been mentioned, my undergraduate academic background is in political science with a focus on national security. Having taken courses such as Terrorism Prevention, Homeland Security, and US Intelligence Community gives me familiarity with what STRATFOR does to support the American national security apparatus and the policymakers, the way STRATFOR goes about doing that, and the issues and challenges STRATFOR faces to produce a viable and meaningful analytical intelligence product.

At the LBJ School, I have taken a Defense Policy class; the primary purpose of which was to identify areas of American defense policy which will need tweaking, minor changes, or a complete overhaul as the US enters a brave new world of international military and diplomatic conflicts. One aspect of this class included looking at the US federal intelligence establishment and figuring out how to best streamline the intelligence gathering and analysis process to make it more lean and effective in dealing with future threats to this country and its allies. Working for STRATFOR will give me an opportunity to examine this process in a professional setting through the perspective of a non-governmental organization, and allow me to observe the real-world intelligence gathering, interpretive, and analytical challenges it faces.

An opportunity to work for STRATFOR is very exciting and one I should not pass up. I believe that my personal background and the unique Ukrainian-American viewpoint that comes with it, the skills attained through professional and academic experiences, and my positive attitude, integrity, and determination make me an excellent match for the intern position with STRATFOR.

I look forward to meeting you and discussing how my qualifications, background, and interests can serve you. You may reach me at 614.226.7025 or yaroslav.primachenko@. I appreciate your consideration and look forward to hearing from you.

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