Christie Gingras and Max Tucker, both MPA/IR students who entered the Maxwell School earlier this year, represent the newest cohort of Robertson Fellows, one of the most prestigious scholarship programs offered through Maxwell.

The Maxwell School is one of only five graduate schools to receive funding for the Robertson Fellows Program from the Robertson Foundation for Government. The nonprofit family foundation has a mission to inspire the best and brightest U.S. graduate students to pursue long-term federal government careers in foreign policy, national security, and international affairs. Its overarching goal aims to strengthen the federal government with such top-level talent.

Each year, the Maxwell School identifies two high-performing U.S. graduate students to receive grants providing full tuition for two years of study, a living stipend and health insurance, and assistance in finding a summer internship.  This year's fellows were selected from nearly 20 highly qualified applicants to become Maxwell's seventh cohort of Robertson Fellows. Both students expressed a desire to work for the federal government in international affairs, and demonstrated the potential to thrive academically at Maxwell.

Gingras attended Miami University of Ohio, graduating magna cum laude in 2013 with a BS in education and a minor in Spanish. While at Miami, she served on the Dean’s Student Advisory Council and volunteered with the American Cancer Society, leading Miami University’s Relay for Life. She was selected to be a member of Miami’s Urban Teaching Cohort, student teachers who receive training in community integration and urban youth development. In 2014, Gingras was accepted to serve in the Peace Corps, where, for 27 months, she taught English in western Mongolia. During her service, Gingras coordinated multiple government grant-sponsored projects and collaborated with international organizations such as World Vision, UNFPA, and GIZ. Her secondary projects focused on the development of life skills and gender equity in local youth. She speaks Mongolian and Spanish. After graduating from Maxwell, Gingras hopes to establish a career in international development, particularly in gender and youth development, with USAID.

Tucker, a veteran of the U.S. Army, attended the University of North Dakota, where he studied political science and international relations, graduating summa cum laude. In 2011, he was commissioned into the Army and served four and a half years as an infantry officer. At Fort Benning (Georgia) and Schofield Barracks (Hawaii) he served as a platoon leader, executive officer, and operations officer. In May of 2013, he was deployed with his unit to the Philippines and conducted joint training, mentoring, and rapport building with the Philippine Army. Tucker is interested in intra-stat conflict resolution and reconciliation, and hopes for a career in the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations at the Department of State.