This summer Andrew Krepps will be working side by side with high-ranking government officials in Washington, D.C.
The international relations senior from Marquette is the first MSU student to receive the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Junior Fellow award. He was one of 10 chosen from a pool of about 200.
“I’ll be working with some people who are renowned scholars of international affairs,” Krepps said. “It’s a tremendous opportunity.”
The award gives Krepps a yearlong job with the Carnegie Endowment in Washington, where he will provide research assistance, co-author articles, meet with high-level officials, and participate in Congressional proceedings.
Krepps will be specializing in the area of nuclear nonproliferation, which deals with stopping the development and distribution of nuclear weapons.
After the yearlong fellowship concludes, Krepps said he will be looking for a job in government diplomacy.
“Now that the Cold War is over it’s an incredibly changing field,” he said. “It’s a really exciting place to be.”
Krepps said the small class sizes and faculty at James Madison College helped lead to his success.
“They had a great reputation and I knew that I’d get a lot of individualized attention,” he said about his decision to come to MSU.
The faculty, in turn, couldn’t be prouder.
Michael Schechter, James Madison professor and academic adviser, said the fellowship is great news.
“He’s certainly someone who’s qualified,” he said. “He has as much background in arms control issues as an undergraduate can have.”
Schechter said fellowship winners usually come from a select group of East Coast schools, so it’s nice to have a winner from MSU.
“The way that MSU and (James) Madison College get known is by the success of our students and our graduates,” he said.
James Madison Dean Sherman Garnett, who used to work at the Carnegie Endowment, said Krepps is perfect for the fellowship.
“He’s very smart, always prepared, very thoughtful,” he said. “There couldn’t be a better person to get this.”
Krepps’ parents received word of their son’s award by phone. They said the opportunities MSU and James Madison College have provided are tremendous.
“He’s excelled right from the start,” father Karl Krepps said. “Anything that he gets into he works extremely hard at.”
Mother Casey Krepps said her son has always been well-rounded.
“He’s a sports nut but he’s a history buff,” she said. “We’re very proud of him and he’s just everything that anybody could ever ask for in a son.”
