Veterans and active-duty military members form an important part of the Kennedy School community. Over the past ten years, more than 500 U.S. active duty service members, reservists, and veterans have enrolled in the Kennedy School’s various educational programs—joining many more over the course of the School’s history. This year, roughly 8% of students in the School’s degree programs have a U.S. military affiliation—a higher rate than in the general U.S. population.
Supporting service at HKS
The Kennedy School is working to welcome even more veterans to campus through the new American Service Fellowship, which is currently soliciting applications from all 50 states. Half of the 50 fellowship slots will be allocated to veterans and half to other types of public servants. The American Service Fellowship is the biggest and most ambitious scholarship for students to attend HKS, and it joins several other funding opportunities for veterans and active-duty military members, such as the Pat Tillman Scholars and the Center for Public Leadership’s Military and Veteran Graduate Fellowship. The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs also runs the National Security Fellowship for U.S. military officers and intelligence professionals. Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education programs also draw military participants, including the Senior Executives in National and International Security program.
Among the Kennedy School’s alumni veterans serving in government are Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth MPP 2013, Senator Jack Reed MPP 1973, Congressman Seth Moulton MPA 2011, and Congressman Dan Crenshaw MC/MPA 2017. Alumna Shoshana Chatfield MC/MPA 1997 was the first woman to head the U.S. Naval War College. And our recent graduates, such as Roni Yadlin PhD 2025 and Brandon Moore MPP/MBA 2025, are putting the lessons they learned at the School into action.
The Kennedy School’s faculty and staff, too, number many veterans, including Eric Rosenbach MPP 2004, director of the Defense, Emerging Technology, and Strategy Program at the School’s Belfer Center and a senior lecturer in public policy. Our community is also now mourning the recent death of Setti Warren, who was a U.S. Navy veteran in addition to serving as the director of the Institute of Politics.
Harvard Kennedy School has launched a new program to provide full scholarships for at least 50 American public servants and military veterans.
Students who serve
Our current students who are veterans have come to the School to continue their journeys in leadership and service. While they have different backgrounds and interests, and represent different branches of the U.S. military, they are united in a commitment to public service.
We have collected reflections from a few of our current students who serve. Read excerpts below—or click links below for their full stories. (And revisit some student reflections from last year.)
Nils Olsen MPP/MBA 2026
Co-president of the student-led HKS Armed Forces Committee, Nils Olsen MPP/MBA 2026 served as a U.S. Army captain. He says, “Putting on any professional uniform is a physical reminder of the standards to which you have committed (I’m sure doctors or professional athletes could relate to this sentiment). It’s a reminder of why doing your work well is important.”
Eva Gari MC/MPA 2026
An active-duty master sergeant in the Army, Eva Gari MC/MPA 2026 is also a Pat Tillman Scholar. Gari moved to the United States as a teenager with her family, seeking political asylum from Venezuela. She is driven to support displaced populations and refugee communities.
Watch a short video with Gari.
Luke Bienstock MPP 2027
Having grown up in New York, and motivated by the September 11 attacks, Luke Bienstock MPP 2027 served as a lieutenant in the Navy. He says, “I joined the Navy because I wanted to be part of a community committed to something greater than itself, in defense of our nation. And I enrolled in the MPP Program because I wanted to better prepare myself to continue serving out of uniform.”
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Credit: Natalie Montaner