Student Spotlight: Naomi Banner (SFS ’27)

Below, Naomi Banner (IPOL ’27) from Yorktown Heights, NY reflects on her summer internship in Washington, DC at the Middle East Institute.

Q: What was your summer internship and what type of work did you do?
A: This summer I was a policy intern at the Middle East Institute, where I conducted policy research, wrote my own pieces on regional security issues, compiled a number of defense reference materials, and attended briefings and events relevant to my work.

Q: What was your favorite part about the internship/were there any particular stand-out projects that you can share?
A: I enjoyed developing my backgrounder paper on regional integrated air defense alongside Senior Fellow Dr. Jason Campbell, who has been my mentor since I began MEI part-time in January.

Q: How has your experience in IBD thus far prepared you for success in this position?
A: My experience in Professor Busch’s Trade Law and Policy class was directly applicable to my compilation of hundreds of treaties and agreements into a US-Middle East Defense Agreement Index, which required summarizing each of their key points, terms, and conditions concisely. Having already worked with case law, GATT, and other long legal documents through Professor Busch’s course, I felt well prepared for this project. I’m looking forward to taking Professor Busch’s Market Access Lab in the fall!

Q: What’s one fun summer activity you did outside of your internship?
A: I took my friend visiting from home to the Congressional Baseball Game!