In scholarship shape

Jeff Benson

Political science major Brittany Schick said that so far she’s

achieved everything she’s wanted in life, and if everything goes

according to plan, she could become the next Colin Powell or

Condoleezza Rice.

“I grew up being told I could be anything I wanted to be, and so

far I haven’t found that to be untrue,” Schick, 21, said.

In November, the UC Irvine political science and international

studies major and ranking officer in UCLA’s Air Force ROTC program

received the George J. Mitchell scholarship, one of 12 that the

U.S.-Ireland Alliance gives annually to deserving students aspiring

for graduate study in Ireland.

The Mitchell scholarship is on par with other prestigious

scholarships such as the Rhodes, the Truman or the Fulbright, Schick

said. It’s awarded each year to honor former U.S. Sen. George J.

Mitchell’s contributions to the Northern Ireland peace process and to

network future American policymakers with Irish leaders.

Schick becomes the first Mitchell recipient from UC Irvine in the

award’s six-year history, said Dell Pendergrast, director of the

Mitchell program.

“Our committee was very impressed with her enthusiasm and her

public spirit in what she envisions with her public life,”

Pendergrast said. “She’s very committed to her military career and to

serving the community in that way. And of course, she’s very bright

and intelligent.”

Schick said she’s locked her scopes on someday becoming the U.S.

secretary of state or secretary of defense. She said she got her

interest in national security and international political affairs

from her father, a former Air Force fighter pilot.

“I want to be involved in international politics,” she said. “I

grew up believing that America is the greatest nation on Earth.

Although we’ve made mistakes, what we’ve sworn to protect for future

generations is important.”

In the meantime, Schick plans to parlay her college experience

into a career in military intelligence, after she attends Dublin City

University in the fall to earn her master’s degree in international

relations.

Mitchell scholars are selected because they exhibit high levels of

academic achievement, leadership and community service, Pendergrast

said.

Irish universities each accept up to two Mitchell scholars per

year. The universities waive tuition and pay for housing, while the

U.S.-Ireland Alliance pays for the transatlantic airfare and a

stipend of about $12,000, she said.

“I was thrilled,” Schick said, recalling when she was selected for

the award in November. “This is one of those huge scholarships that

you hear about people getting. It was sort of like a big pat on the

back.”

Schick has also served as flight commander, vice wing commander

and training director at UCLA’s cadet-run Air Force ROTC program,

where she’s learned to communicate efficiently in the military’s

chain of command. She’s working to obtain her top-secret clearance,

she said.

“I was trained to be an officer,” she said. “ ... In the ROTC, you

go to field training. It’s a rite of passage because you take on

leadership and training opportunities. There’s a point to everything

you’re doing.”

As an undergraduate student at UC Irvine, Schick has focused on

how American intelligence policies and practices have changed

according to terrorist threats posed after Sept. 11. Responses to more traditional threats, such as those used in the Cold War era, no

longer work because of technological advances, she said.

Changes in the intelligence structure are forcing domestic

policing agencies such as the CIA and FBI to work together now more

than ever, she said.

Audrey DeVore, director of UC Irvine’s Scholarship Opportunities

program, said Schick was selected from 220 candidates endorsed by

their universities. The field represented only a small percentage of

those who applied, which DeVore estimated at 800 students.

“They’re looking for people who are leaders, who have contributed,

and will contribute to society,” DeVore said. “I’ve never met anyone

like her. She’s got nerves of steel, and she’s highly dedicated to

this country.”

When Schick graduates from UC Irvine in June, she’ll commission

into the Air Force for the summer. In September, she’ll spend a year

earning her master’s in international relations and research the way

Irish government coordinates with British intelligence.

When she returns to the U.S., Schick said she’ll be able to choose

between pursuing a career in the departments of state or defense or

continue to work her way up through the Air Force ranks.

Job opportunities in the intelligence field have increased

significantly since Sept. 11, she said.

“The Air Force stuff will be put on hold while I’m in Ireland,”

she said. “Basically, when I get back, I’ll probably go to Intel

school and start active duty. The military’s been a good decision so

far.”

* JEFF BENSON covers education and may be reached at (714)

966-4617 or by e-mail at jeff.benson@latimes.com.