Sam Rendon (MPIA ’25) admits it’s no surprise he chose to pursue a master's degree in international affairs with a concentration in security and intelligence studies at Pitt.
“I've been interested in military history, conflict, and politics since I was a kid,” he shared, adding that continuing his studies at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs was a clear choice after attending Pitt for his undergraduate degree. “I’ve lived in Pittsburgh for ten years, and the School is, in my opinion, the best policy school in the region.”
Rendon will have a unique opportunity to engage with like-minded students from across the globe this spring as part of the 2025 Raisina-IE Global Student Challenge, a collaboration between IE School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs (SPEGA) and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) Raisina Dialogue.
Now in its second year, the Raisina-IE Global Student Challenge brings together inter-university and inter-regional teams from 50 leading schools of government and global affairs across the regions of Asia-Pacific, South Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus, Middle East and North Africa, Africa, North America, Latin America, and Europe. The initiative aims to engage emerging leaders in key discussions on global governance, fostering collaboration across diverse academic institutions and enhancing the participants’ critical thinking and communication skills to empower them as future drivers of transformation.
The theme of this year’s challenge is “Building Bridges: Mitigating the North-South Divide,” and will cover the key areas of multilateralism and the digital divide. Split into 10 teams of 5, each with an assigned academic advisor, Rendon and his peers will meet online for four weeks of analysis and solution-building, collaborating to develop a case they will present during a one-week immersive experience at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi. A distinguished international jury will select one winning team for each case. Last year’s jury included former Prime Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt, former Foreign Minister of Australia Marise Ann Payne, and Executive Director of ORF America Dhruva Jaishankar.
Rendon knew he wanted to participate as soon as he heard about the opportunity from his faculty advisor and International Affairs Program Director, Dr. Ryan Grauer.
“Although I have a lot on my plate, this was pretty much an offer I couldn't refuse. I thrive on collaboration, competition, and research,” he shared. “The opportunity to do this with a team from across the globe is super exciting, and I'm looking forward to meeting my team and the rest of the cohort in New Delhi this March.”
He encouraged prospective students and classmates interested in security and intelligence studies to believe in themselves and grab hold of every opportunity to learn something new.
“Consider your success a foregone conclusion,” he said. “Exhaustion and doubt are real, but just know that's just part of what stands between you and your inevitable completion of your goals. Second, believe that you can learn anything, never tune out of something because you think you don't have the ability to do it. Lean in and absorb as much as you can. We are all smarter than we often think we are.”