Did Kim Mendez Lemus always dream of learning the intricacies of congressional budget reports? Not exactly.
“I didn’t know anything about appropriations, but I wanted to get my foot in the door and soak up information,” said Mendez Lemus, who graduated in May 2024 with an MA in International Policy and Development and a Nonproliferation Studies Certificate.
Mendez Lemus said she was motivated to seek a career in the federal government because she is a first-generation American.
“From a young age, my parents always said they wouldn’t have what they have now without this country,” said Mendez Lemus. “The respect they have for a country they are not native to meant I felt that gratitude and wanted to give back.”
Kimberly Mendez Lemus graduated from the Institute with an MA in International Policy and Development in 2024, after completing an internship at the Department of Homeland Security, where she now works.
This willingness to learn led to an unexpected position within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where she serves on the executive secretary team for the department’s chief financial officer.
In this role, Mendez Lemus edits and reviews various congressional reports the DHS must submit to Capitol Hill each year. She teleworks four days a week from Baltimore, Maryland, analyzing legal jargon in reports and memos.
It has been a fascinating experience. You can’t get anything done without money.
“I have a full view of the paperwork that goes in and out of DHS,” Mendez Lemus said. “Being at the headquarters level has given me a full scope of all the work that goes into governing.”
The recent threat of a government shutdown proved illuminating.
“There’s a lot that goes into planning a shutdown. It’s not just closing it all, bye!” Mendez Lemus said. “In the background, I am seeing everything being rushed. Our duty is to make sure we are ready for a shutdown. It’s so much more nuanced than what we realize.”
Mendez Lemus aspires to a position at the State Department or the Department of Defense and is especially interested in how nonproliferation issues interact with humanitarian needs.
“People talk about nonproliferation from a defense perspective, but it’s separated from the humanitarian perspective,” said Mendez Lemus. “I don’t think those should exist in different conversations.”
Despite the budget focus of her practicum, she has found more opportunities to use her international policy and development training that she anticipated.
“It has been a fascinating experience,” she said. “You can’t get anything done without money.”
Master of Arts in International Policy and Development
Nonproliferation Studies
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