VFMC Cadet Heading to Washington, D.C.

VFMC Security Studies major Cadet Maksim Vardanyan’s summer will start in the nation’s capital. He has been selected to participate in a national security seminar at The Washington Center in Washington, D.C. His selection from a large pool of applicants was based on his GPA, VFMC’s reputation, and his major.

An immersive experience, Cadet Vardanyan will combine academic seminars with hands-on learning from several government agencies. “I am grateful for this opportunity,” said Cadet Vardanyan. “I am hopeful to learn more about how our government works and what steps it takes to make our nation more secure.”

Cadet Vardanyan is finishing his first year at VFMC. “The U.S.’s leadership role in the world is not accidental. I want to learn how this country earned this position and how we operate to maintain it,” he said. “Additionally, it will be interesting to learn the thinking of peers who will be participating with me in the program.”

He is no stranger to global thinking. Cadet Vardanyan is a U.S. citizen born in Armenia. Well-traveled, he is fluent in Russian, Armenian, German, and English. Language is a key to understanding human relations, he said. “How people talk and the special language choices unique to a culture and place can be revealing.”

Cadet Vardanyan has applied for an internship with the Radnor Police Department to start after he returns from Washington, D.C. In the longer term after graduating from VFMC, he plans to study homeland security at his follow-on college.

Professionally, his goals include working for a government agency. “I hope to work for the FBI or the CIA or Homeland Security,” said Cadet Vardanyan. “As a field agent, I would like to be placed in the U.S. or to a foreign post.” 

His start begins this summer. Good luck, Cadet Vardanyan.