Greg Honan: Reflections at Graduation

Honan, a 2020 Harvard Kennedy School graduate, was a Belfer International and Global Affairs Student Fellow

Greg Honan graduated in May 2020  from Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) with a Master in Public Policy (MPP) degree. While at HKS, he was a Belfer International and Global Affairs Student Fellow, he was also a John C. Culver Scholar at the Institute of Politics. His research interests include national security decision making and the role of media and information in foreign policy.

Prior to attending HKS, Honan received a BA in Political Science from Elon University and served as chief research assistant to David Gergen, a CNN senior political analyst and professor of public service at HKS.

Reflecting on his time at HKS, Honan says Erica Chenoweth's class The Politics of Terrorism had the greatest impact on him because the class perfectly blended academic approaches to terrorism with a practical focus on policy implications and how terrorists operate in the real world. “Professor Chenoweth tested our assumptions about terrorism and counterterrorism and gave us the tools to think critically about the topic when we enter the national security space,” he says.

Honan also had the opportunity at HKS to work with the Belfer Center's Economic Diplomacy Initiative to design and run “Digital Currency Wars,” a live simulation of a White House National Security Council meeting during a major national security crisis. Through this experience he had the pleasure of working “with the talented minds” of Belfer Executive Director Aditi Kumar, his classmate Sakina Haider, and a team of HKS students.

“The exercise was one of the most challenging and rewarding projects I took on at HKS,” Honan says. "Watching high-level faculty - from Ash Carter and Larry Summers to Meghan O'Sullivan and Nick Burns - participate in the simulation and develop new policy ideas was a special moment.”