November 11, 2025 — Two Marist students spent four intensive days at the nearby United States Military Academy at West Point participating in the prestigious Student Conference on United States Affairs (SCUSA). There, they joined fellow students and experts from around the world discussing high-level issues in U.S. governance and foreign policy.

Harrison Solomon '27 and Suzie Kolmel '26, both political science majors, were selected by the Marist political science department to represent the University at the conference, which hosts more than 200 students from over 100 global institutions.

The conference tasks students with developing actionable recommendations for U.S. decision-makers in attendance.

Marist students Harrison Solomon '27 and Suzie Kilmel '26 at the SCUSA conference. Photo courtesy of Dr. Juris Pupcenoks, School of Liberal Arts.

"What made me want to attend SCUSA was the highly unique nature of the conference itself," Harrison said. "Both students and cadets dive into and unpack important issues that face our country today, culminating in our recommendations for how the US should tackle foreign policy issues."

Harrison’s group focused on "Global Financial Institutions and Markets," which examined the United States’ role in the international political economy. Their policy recommendations included incentivizing developing countries to seek loans from the United States rather than its competitors, cutting red tape on those loans, and examining current tariff regulations.

The group was selected as one of four finalists at the conference.

Attendees are also immersed in the daily life of West Point cadets, with students staying in cadet barracks and eating meals in the historic mess hall.

Harrison Solomon’s group (left) and Suzie Kolmel’s group (right) at the SCUSA conference. Photos courtesy of Harrison Solomon '27 and Suzie Kolmel '26.

"Participation in West Point's SCUSA conference offers students a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in civil-military dialogue about important global policy issues," said Dr. Juris Pupcenoks, professor and chair of the political science department in the School of Liberal Arts. "Civilian students from around the world spend several days living alongside West Point cadets who are training to become future US Army officers, collaborating on roundtables to produce specific policy recommendations for the United States."

"The most interesting part of the conference for me, in an academic sense, was the free-flowing format which allowed our roundtables to be almost exclusively student-led, leading to deep conversations in which we unpacked very abstract and timely concepts," Harrison said.

Suzie worked on the Africa roundtable, focusing on "Prospects for Democracy and Development." Her group crafted policy suggestions centered on building a long-term sustainable partnership with the Democratic Republic of Congo for the vital resource of cobalt and contributing to infrastructure development in the DRC, including education programs.

"My favorite part was participating in the roundtable discussions where I got to share ideas and collaborate with people I wouldn't normally have the opportunity to," Suzie said. "I also really enjoyed the extracurricular activities such as the walking tours and visiting the beautiful West Point campus."

Dr. Pupcenoks also participated in the conference, co-chairing the Europe roundtable alongside Catherine Sendak, Director of the Transatlantic Defense and Security program at the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Juris Pupcenoks with the group he co-chaired at the SCUSA conference. Photo courtesy of Pupcenoks. 

"At SCUSA, Marist was represented among some of the top universities globally, and I'm very proud of how well both of our student delegates performed," said Dr. Pupcenoks. "This conference is a perfect example of the experiential learning we emphasize at Marist—through intensive policy discussions and negotiations, students practiced diplomacy and policy development while building confidence, leadership skills, and professional networks."

"Opportunities like this allow students to grow outside the classroom and build leadership and collaboration skills," Suzie said.

Harrison echoed this, saying that experiences like SCUSA "expose students to valuable new perspectives and experiences, as well as being a great resume builder."

"The SCUSA conference has provided a great professional opportunity for our political science majors for many years," said Dr. Martin Shaffer, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts. "SCUSA is a high impact, experiential learning experience and our students benefit greatly from the chance to network with foreign policy professionals and students from top universities across the country, and I know that Harrison and Suzie represented themselves and Marist University very well this year."