Before arriving on the Hilltop, Ben Ghatan (SFS’26) knew he wanted to pursue faith through policy making and public service—but he didn’t expect that his academic path would also include four semesters of Chinese language study as part of his regional specialization in Asia. What began with hesitation, however, soon became “one of the highlights of my academic experience here,” he shares.
“My studies in the SFS program have firstly encouraged a passion for Chinese,” says Ghatan, adding that he won the Huayu scholarship to study in Taiwan the summer of 2024 through the Chinese department.
This May, Ghatan will walk across the stage at his graduation ceremony to receive a degree in regional and comparative studies (RCST), with concentrations in Asia and Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, shaped by a deep commitment to faith, service and engaging with the world beyond the classroom.
From the classroom to the world
As a U.S.-New Zealand dual citizen who grew up in New York City, Ghatan chose his major with a clear goal in mind: to pursue a career in U.S.-Pacific foreign policy, particularly U.S.–New Zealand relations. He saw RCST as the ideal foundation for building a regionally focused career in the Pacific.
“Understanding the role of China in the Pacific is critical for that work, and RCST enables me to study the cross-section of U.S.-China politics, U.S.-Pacific politics and China-Pacific politics all at once through my regional concentrations and through my research at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy,” he explains. “But knowing what I know now, I would have chosen it simply because of the major’s dean—Dean Russell. She’s shown steadfast advocacy for not just me, but all of the RCST majors.”
Throughout his time on the Hilltop, Ghatan found mentorship that shaped both his academic and personal growth. He credits Professor Nini Li for sparking his passion for Chinese and encouraging him to study in Taiwan; Fr. Stephen Fields for thoughtful conversations around campus; and Dean Russell for her steady support through the ups and downs of college life.
With one mentor and close friend, Zachariah John, he took Fr. Fields’s History of Christian Thought together, which Ghatan says was his favorite class. Coming from a secular high school where “any religious conversation was shot down as archaic and irrelevant,” Ghatan found it especially meaningful to engage with biblical texts alongside peers from diverse religious backgrounds while learning from Fr. Fields’s years of expertise.
As a requirement, Ghatan took Professor Alan Tidwell’s Peoples and Politics Down Under proseminar, which examined how Australia and New Zealand, are in fact economically competitive, politically dynamic and deeply intertwined with U.S. foreign policy, particularly as key partners in the Pacific. He also achieved proficiency in French and Chinese during his time at Georgetown.
Besides his experience in Taipei, Ghatan also got to travel to Romania and speak to the last surviving witnesses of undocumented mass shootings of Romanian Jews on a Centennial Lab during his sophomore year, and study abroad at Sciences Po in Paris. As a sophomore and junior, Ghatan also interned at Senator Booker’s office and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Now, he is conducting research as a Newsom Fellow, one of two undergraduate students selected to complete a year-long project at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. Through this work, he is collaborating with former U.S. ambassadors Alexander Arvizu and Jeffrey DeLaurentis (SFS’76) to examine the role of government finance in shaping diplomacy in the Pacific.
“Alone, each of these experiences could perhaps be replicated at another school or in another environment,” he says. “But I don’t know of another space where I can contribute to critical policy making, delve into my academic passion for language learning, lead Bible studies, engage with my peers in faith conversations and witness firsthand testimonies of the Holocaust, all in one place.”
Building community through leadership, service and faith
On the Hilltop, Ghatan was active in leadership roles that bridge service, community and faith. He served on a student strategy team at the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service in his freshman year, swam for the Georgetown club swim team throughout all four years and supported staff with day-to-day operations at Yates for the past two years.
He was also deeply involved in the SFS Academic Council, where he served as chair of the student engagement committee after being a member. In this role, he expanded the committee’s outreach efforts by launching a partnership to teach classes at Hardy Middle School and creating a college mentorship program for students at Roosevelt High School, where the committee already offers international affairs courses, with the goal of creating “pathways between lower income communities in DC and schools in the area, like Georgetown,” he says.
Under his leadership, the committee also partnered with Christ House, an organization providing food and medical services to individuals experiencing homelessness in Foggy Bottom. The initiative organizes service trips open to SFS students beyond the council, encouraging broader and more accessible participation in community engagement.
Since his sophomore year, Ghatan has worked as a writer for Invisible People, a nonprofit newsroom focused on homelessness. His work has covered topics ranging from housing policy challenges in London to successful approaches to reducing homelessness across U.S. cities. He has also worked as a staff coordinator for the DC-based tech startup Nascentech Inc. and has led initiatives to bridge the DC and Doha campuses by initiating new programs to develop exchanges in Doha.
But his most rewarding experience of all is being a part of Campus Outreach, through which he gets to host Bible studies and worship gatherings in his dorm, along with organizing a number of events and mentorship opportunities throughout each week. As a part of Campus Outreach, he got to travel to Khon Kaen University to support the Campus Outreach staff in Khon Kaen, Thailand during the summer before his sophomore year.
“The relationships I’ve made and the people I’ve met in Campus Outreach have changed my life,” he says. “They’ve gotten to know me deeply—both the ups and downs, the strengths and weaknesses—as I’ve gotten to know them. They’ve challenged me, encouraged me, helped me through the lows of life and cheered for me in the celebrations of life.”
As he prepares to graduate, Ghatan says he will miss most the group of students he mentored through a discipleship group combining Bible study and close-knit mentorship. The group brought together students from vastly different backgrounds, interests and experiences, and it became one of the most meaningful parts of his time at Georgetown.
“Over time, though, we’ve grown to know one another–knowing our greatest strengths and our greatest weaknesses, the things that upset us the most and the things that have made us most excited about being at Georgetown,” he says. “It’s been a gift to get to see them love Jesus more as they’ve helped me do the same. Doing that is something I’ve appreciated more than anything else during my time at Georgetown and has been so far one of the greatest privileges of my life.”
His experience with Campus Outreach is also closely tied to his involvement with Del Ray Baptist Church, a community he describes as one of the most impactful parts of his time in Washington, DC.
“The people there have loved me more than I could have ever imagined,” he says. “I’ve brought no money, or food or car to get to them, and they’ve brought me to their homes to be a part of their lives. Those kinds of relationships last more than a lifetime, and for them and to God I’m grateful.”
Carrying faith and purpose beyond Georgetown
After graduation, Ghatan plans to return to Taiwan to further develop his Chinese, teach English and work with a church he attended during his study abroad. While there, he hopes to begin a homeless outreach ministry, building on his interest in housing policy and efforts to address homelessness. In the long term, he hopes to work in U.S. foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific, an ambition shaped by his SFS coursework and the professors who introduced him to what it means to serve through policy.
“My most broad-reaching goal is to love God and love people better,” he says. “That’s at the core of Jesus’ ministry to the world, and his sacrificial love to me makes me want to serve him and serve others in a similar light.”
Looking back, Ghatan says he will miss the late-night conversations with friends and peers who challenged him to think differently while supporting his personal and academic growth.
“I’ve never known a community of people so willing to engage with me, engage with the world, and seek to serve others well,” he says. “The opportunity Georgetown provides to pursue faith through policy making and public service often goes unnoticed at Georgetown.”
That sense of urgency has pushed him towards the intersections of faith and service, ready to build upon campus connections to establish more equitable and comprehensive U.S. foreign policy in the Pacific.
“Internships and clubs are important, but deep friendships, opportunities to serve communities within and beyond Georgetown, and ultimately my imperfect efforts to serve the God who has so graciously given me life will last far more than anything else,” he says.