Hands-on global policy

For 28 students at Southeast Missouri State University, some of the world's key issues are much more than subjects for classroom discussion.

These students are participants in the Global Strategy Institute's Higher Education Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

CSIS is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit think tank in Washington, D.C.

Through the Higher Education Initiative, the students spend months researching issues and creating policies. Over spring break, the students participated in a five-day residency at CSIS in Washington, working with the think tank's policy experts.

Last month, the students and CSIS officials presented a regional conference on the university campus, giving students, faculty members and the public a taste of the depth and complexity of the research involved.

Southeast is among a handful of universities that participate in the CSIS program. Others include Penn State, Georgia Tech and Chapman University in California.

It is a tribute to Southeast and to the community that students at the university have this opportunity to take part in such meaningful and high-level policy sessions. Among the many lessons learned: "I realize we're not so isolated," said Kelli Nagel, a junior.