Bradley Delegates Shine at Prestigious West Point Conference

In early October, two Bradley students had the chance of a lifetime to attend the 75th Annual Student Conference on United States Affairs (SCUSA) at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. 

SCUSA gives students from across the country an opportunity to engage with others who have similar interests. They have access to top scholars and policymakers and experience living at the oldest military academy in America. 

Since 2014, Bradley University has sent delegates to attend SCUSA. It is the largest, oldest, and most prestigious conference of its type in the world. Its focus is primarily U.S. foreign relations, national security, and international relations. This year, sophomore political science major Elaysia Sanders and senior political science and music major Aaron Anderson had the opportunity to attend the conference, themed “Securing the Blessings of Liberty: American Foreign Policy in an Increasing Multipolar World.” 

At the beginning of every day, the nearly 200 student delegates would break out into group roundtables, discussing topics that were relative to the theme of the conference such as, “How does Multipolarity Affect the Fight against Climate Change?” and “Europe as the Emerging Pole in a Multipolar World.” 

Throughout the conference, the student delegates and West Point cadets debate and formulate policy recommendations that realistically model U.S. strategic responses to significant national and global challenges. Students work in small groups alongside one scholar and one policy maker. This high-quality engaged learning experience for undergraduates is challenging, intellectually stimulating, and fun.

Sanders recalls having nearly 3-4 roundtable discussions every day, spending several hours learning about new topics and engaging with other students across the nation. “At some point, our group had a joke that we were milking our brains so much, we were brain dead,” she said with a laugh. “It is good to get pushed and be in this environment where you are learning something different every day.”

Sanders and Anderson also gained experience debating, writing policy proposals, and listening to keynote speakers. “I was very pleased at how much my political science classes at Bradley prepared me for communicating with others about foreign policy. It also helped me apply what I learned in political theory toward crafting a policy proposal that was not purely transactional or too narrow in scope,” Anderson admitted. 

“As an ROTC student, this experience helped me to understand and bridge the gap between my military perspective with my civilian side to find alternative ways to think of solutions,” he added. 

Sanders admitted to being a bit intimidated by the prospect of attending SCUSA. “My biggest concern was that I felt like I wouldn’t have anything to offer,” she said, adding that once he was there, that all went away. “Never once did I feel like I didn’t belong. The students embrace you with open arms.” 

— Adalia Yeung