Anna Liu, SSP’20

“SSP prepared me not just for a career in national security, but for how to think, question, and operate within it. The program gave me substantive training, exposure to practitioners and policymakers, and a community of peers (and alumni) who constantly challenged me to broaden my horizons. Just as importantly, SSP taught me how to navigate the gap between theory and practice—how political constraints, institutional incentives, and human judgment shape real-world security decisions in ways that often diverge from theory.

Personally and professionally, SSP instilled in me a lasting intellectual humility—a reminder that expertise does not exempt anyone from blind spots. To this day, I still carry with me a favorite piece of wisdom from Professor Jim Rabon: “The higher you fly, the thinner the oxygen — and so too the quality of common sense.” That idea continues to shape how I think about leadership, responsibility, and the need for sound judgment in high-stakes environments..”

Anna Liu is an analyst in the Department of Defense, currently on a rotation to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She earned her MA in Security Studies from Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program (SSP) in 2020 and holds a BA from Saint Louis University in Theatre, Political Science, and International Studies, with minors in Chinese and Asian Studies. Anna has studied, traveled, and conducted interviews and research in China and Taiwan—experiences that continue to shape her professional endeavors.

At SSP, Anna was an active member of the SSP Student Council and the Georgetown Security Studies Review. She was also a recipient of the Bilden Asia-Pacific Fellowship, through which she spent a summer in China and Taiwan researching CCP decisionmaking and leadership.