Benjamin Blythe, a second-year graduate student at Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies and O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, has recently accepted a policy and research internship with the US-ASEAN Business Council in Washington, DC. Ben is looking forward to building off of the education he has received at Hamilton Lugar and O’Neill on Asia-Pacific policy through this internship.
“I’m looking forward to this opportunity to focus on US-Southeast Asia relations through both the lenses of both the private and public sectors ,” Ben says. “Working with a globally-focused DC nonprofit this summer will also provide me with the experience to prepare for a career in international public service.”
During the internship, Ben will research and write on current political and economic trends impacting American and Southeast Asian businesses for the US-ASEAN Business Council’s 160+ industry member organizations. He will also attend and help organize US-ASEAN Business Council events with government officials and private sector leaders. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to learn more about Southeast Asian economic development, both on the national and regional levels.”
The opportunities at Hamilton Lugar’s East Asian Languages and Cultures Department and Southeast Asian and ASEAN Studies (SEAS) Program helped Ben prepare for this internship experience. “I’ve been very fortunate to have the support of so many excellent professors, advisors, and fellow students that have expanded my research skills and encouraged my professional development. The opportunities at Hamilton Lugar to explore a variety of regions, as well as academic perspectives and disciplines, have been incredible.”
In addition to his internship, Ben is currently a Graduate Research Assistant on a project analyzing the trade dynamics behind the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. He also serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for an economics course at O’Neill. Previously, he has written about Southeast Asia for the Council on Foreign Relations and presented about investment activity in the region in an East-West Center conference. He hopes to apply his internship experience at the US-ASEAN Business Council towards his graduate thesis at Hamilton Lugar, where he will focus on Chinese and Japanese infrastructure investment across Southeast Asia.
