The Strauss Center is very pleased to announce the acceptance of nine undergraduate students to its 2025 – 2026 class of Brumley Next Generation Undergraduate Scholars. We are incredibly excited to welcome this dynamic cohort of students into the Brumley Program from across the Forty Acres, and know they will bring unique perspectives to the multi-disciplinary programs of the Strauss Center.

The Brumley Next Generation Scholars Program is designed to provide a clinic in policymaking for undergraduate students and consists of two core components. First, Brumley Scholars participate in a 3-credit introductory policymaking course in Fall 2025, taught by Strauss Center Distinguished Scholars Dr. Stephanie Holmsten and Dr. Michael Mosser. This course allows Scholars to develop essential skills in policy research, analysis, and writing. Scholars will take the lessons learned in the fall semester and refine these ideas in the spring, generating external policy deliverables to share with broader audiences.

Involving undergraduates in international affairs and civic engagement early in their career is a vital part of the Strauss Center’s mission to prepare the next generation of leaders to help develop solutions to the most pressing policy challenges we face today.

Meet the 2025 – 2026 Brumley Next Generation Undergraduate Scholars:  

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Abby Greenlee is a senior at The University of Texas at Austin, pursuing a B.A. in International Relations and Asian Studies with minors in Chinese, History, National Security and International Business. Her academic interests lie at the intersection of political economy, cybersecurity, international law, and U.S.-China relations. Having spent her formative years in China before moving to Texas at age 16, Abby brings a cross-cultural perspective to her work. She is a leader in Minority Women Pursuing Law and the founder of the Texas Journal of International Affairs, where she is committed to amplifying underrepresented voices in law and international affairs.

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Brianna Schaff is a senior at UT Austin, double majoring in International Relations and Global Studies and Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Studies. She is pursuing minors in Government and Slavic & Eurasian Languages, is a Liberal Arts/Plan II Honors Scholar, and a former 2024-25 FLAS Fellow.  Outside of the classroom, she worked as an Energy Policy and Program Intern for PowerHouse Texas during the 89th Texas Legislative Session and volunteers regularly for local non-profits like Citizens’ Climate Lobby to promote local climate change resolutions through grassroots advocacy. Her academic and career interests lie at the intersection of energy security, sustainable development, and geopolitical relations between Russia, the U.S., and Soviet-influenced postcommunist states. In the summer of 2024, she studied the rise of authoritarian regimes in Hungary and attended an intensive language program in the Czech Republic. As a Brumley Scholar, she is excited to explore energy security and diversification policies in Central European countries. In future career endeavors, she hopes to build upon these experiences and guide sustainable environmental policymaking and implementation projects in Central & Eastern Europe or Eurasia. 

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Drew Wessels is a rising fourth-year senior at the University of Texas at Austin, triple majoring in Economics, International Relations and Global Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies, with minors in International Business and National Security Studies.  He spent the 2024 fall semester in Tunis, Tunisia working for an NGO and taking intensive Arabic courses, and has previously attended Intelligence and National Security-oriented study trips to Israel-Palestine, the U.K., Korea, and Singapore. On campus, he is an undergraduate fellow with the Clements Center, involved in research with the Global Disinformation Lab and Innovations for Peace and Development Lab, and is a committee lead for the International Security Track committee in the International Relations Council. After graduation, Drew hopes to attend graduate school for a dual Masters in Political Economy and Law degree, later embarking on a career in public service and international political economy – whether in the intelligence community, civil service, or private sector.

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Evelyn “Evie” Conway is a senior majoring in philosophy and Plan II Honors with minors in Law, Justice, and Society and Government. She is also a Jefferson Scholar completing a certificate in Core Texts and Ideas. On campus, she serves as an officer on the executive board of the Plan II Students’ Association and a general member of Texas Pre-Law Honors Society and Alpha Epsilon Phi, as well as a Texas Cybersecurity Clinic student at the Strauss Center for International Security and Law and a Student Associate with the Intelligence Studies Project. Beyond the 40 Acres, Evie enjoys playing with the cats at Austin Pets Alive! Last summer, she studied Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde while abroad in England. As a Brumley Scholar, Evie hopes to explore the United States’s approach to cybercrime compared to other leading cybersecurity countries. She plans to pursue law school after graduation.

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Gabrielle Izu is a rising senior International Relations and Global Studies major at UT Austin. As an International Relations Major, she loves learning how international organizations and leading nations can leverage their power to alleviate human rights crises and poverty around the world. She has an expressed research interest in East African security and infrastructure, which has led to coursework focusing on economic theory and the history of contemporary issues on the African continent. Gabrielle is a current Undergraduate Fellow with the Clements Center for National Security and an Undergraduate Research Fellow with the Innovations for Peace and Development Lab. In addition to national security, she is passionate about community involvement and educational accessibility. She engages in public speaking and community relations work through the United Black Collegiate Association as the Finance Chair.

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Gavin Harris grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Fascinated by his experience surrounded by diverse cultures in the city, he decided to study International Relations and Global Studies and Plan II Honors at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also pursuing minors in History, Hindi, Computer Science, Security Studies, and Core Texts & Ideas with the Jefferson Scholars Program. Gavin hopes to work in the federal government in national security after graduation. Gavin is an avid traveler, having completed three study abroad programs during his time as a student: a month in Singapore, intensive language study in India with the Critical Language Scholarship, and travel across Europe studying WWII history on the Normandy Scholars Program. Gavin’s research interests revolve around Indo-Pacific security and cyber law and policy, as demonstrated by his research and writing for the Cyber Pacific Project under UT’s Global Disinformation Lab. Outside of academics, he is involved in leadership at several campus organizations, including the International Affairs Society and the Tejas Club. He has organized multiple speaker series on campus, bringing together students and high-profile professionals to learn from each other. In the same manner, he is excited to learn from his peers as a Brumley Scholar.

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Henderson Chandler is a fourth-year Canfield Business Honors student majoring in International Relations and Chinese. He is also pursuing a commission in the United States Army with an interest in Field Artillery and Intelligence. Henderson is a Senior Undergraduate Fellow with the Clements Center for National Security and enjoys reading about the role of Army Special Operations Forces in great power competition, the Korean peninsula, U.S.-China relations, and Arctic security. Henderson is a junior editor and fellowship assistant for the Irregular Warfare Initiative (IWI), a joint production between Princeton’s Empirical Studies of Conflict Project and the Modern War Institute at West Point. IWI produces articles, podcasts, and essays dedicated to incorporating the expertise of both irregular warfare scholars and practitioners into modern national security strategy. Henderson also works at the Clements Center as a student assistant, helping with student and event programming. 

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Michael Fernandez is a senior majoring in Economics and International Relations & Global Studies with a certificate in Applied Statistical Modeling. Since learning about the perverse effects of voluntourism from a high school trip to the Dominican Republic, he has pursued academic interests in U.S. foreign aid policy and international development project evaluation. While studying abroad in Mexico City in Spring 2024, Michael’s Mexican foreign policy classes informed him on the need for more collaborative immigration policies between the U.S. and Mexican governments. As a Brumley Scholar, he aspires to learn how to advocate for data-driven foreign aid as means to fill both nations’ immigration policy gaps, especially amidst significant reductions in American international development spending. Michael plans to pull from his experience as a Boren Scholar to Tanzania, where he witnessed the impact of applying his Swahili language skills to create localized data collection surveys for Ubongo Learning’s last-mile distribution efforts. On campus, Michael is involved in Liberal Arts Honors, International Affairs Society, Texas Students of East Africa, and the Refugee Student Mentor program. In his free time, Michael enjoys discussing theology, learning new dances, listening to music in different languages, recycling, and cooking vegetarian recipes.

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Manon Buckner is a rising senior majoring in International Relations and Global Studies and Asian Studies, with minors in National Security and International Business, and Chinese. She currently serves as a Student Associate for the Intelligence Studies Project, a consultant for Texas Political Consulting, member of the International Relations Council, and the Vice President of Administration for Zeta Tau Alpha. She is also an undergraduate fellow at the Clements Center for National Security. Manon’s current research explores the strategic use of tariffs to safeguard U.S. national security interests. She plans to pursue graduate studies in global policy to further examine how economic tools can advance diplomatic and security objectives.

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The Brumley NextGen Fellows and Scholars programs would not be possible without the generous support of Jon and Rebecca Brumley of Fort Worth, Texas.