{"id":10915,"date":"2014-12-01T01:00:21","date_gmt":"2014-12-01T06:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.cos.ucf.edu\/?p=10915"},"modified":"2019-06-18T15:55:03","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T19:55:03","slug":"ucf-masters-degree-launches-alumnus-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-masters-degree-launches-alumnus-career\/","title":{"rendered":"UCF Master\u2019s Degree Launches Alumnus\u2019 Career"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2014\/10\/bfreeman-230x300.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10917\" src=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2014\/10\/bfreeman-230x300.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Ben Freeman\" width=\"230\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>Ben Freeman, \u201905, continues to benefit from his master\u2019s degree in political science from UCF. Dr. Freeman explained the knowledge he gained at UCF was immensely valuable as he worked toward his Ph.D at Texas A&amp;M University, and continues to help him in his current political work.<\/p>\n<p>While earning his Ph.D. in political science from Texas A&amp;M University, he was an instructor in the political science department and the Bush School of Government and Public Service. Then Dr. Freeman was a national security investigator at the Project on Government Oversight.<\/p>\n<p>Now Dr. Freeman is the policy advisor for national security at Third Way. He specializes in Department of Defense personnel issues, weapons procurement, and is the author of The Foreign Policy Auction, an investigation of the foreign influence industry in America. His work and commentary on national security issues has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, on National Public Radio, CNN, and in numerous other media outlets.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Freeman has used his knowledge testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee and as an instructor in the School of Security and Global Studies at American Military University.<br \/>\nDr. Freeman shared his advice for current UCF students and Alumni:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cKeep making friends at UCF, even after you leave UCF. These are the folks who could ultimately help you get your next job. Plus, the alumni network is HUGE and Knights are just good people. They are a lot of fun to hang out with while you\u2019re watching the Knights win BCS bowl games. So, it\u2019s a win-win!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Dr. Freeman answered some questions about his influential time at UCF and his current work:<br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\nWhy did you choose to attend UCF?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>I initially chose UCF for reasons of convenience. It was a little over an hour drive from Flagler Beach, where I grew up, and the maste\u2019rs classes were all at night so I could still work during the day. Within the first week I was hooked and never regretted the two hour roundtrip drive time.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>How has your UCF degree helped you in your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>My degree has helped me immensely. It prepared me remarkably well for my studies at Texas A&amp;M. Now that I actually work in politics in D.C. I see first-hand many of the things I learned about at UCF\u2014from how the legislative process actually works to the impact of political messaging on public opinion. At UCF I learned theories of politics, now I see those theories in action. And, understanding the underlying dynamic gives me a tremendous advantage.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>What is your best UCF memory?<\/strong><br \/>\n<em><br \/>\nProbably when I found out I had passed my comprehensive exams. That was such a gauntlet I was terrified I\u2019d have to do it again, but then I passed!<\/em><br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\nWhat is your favorite thing about your job? <\/strong><br \/>\n<em><br \/>\nHelping to change public policy. It\u2019s extremely rare, but I\u2019ve been very fortunate to have conducted research that ultimately led to policy changes which make the country safer. I\u2019ve always wanted to do work that helped my country, so having the opportunity to do that, even if it doesn\u2019t happen very often and is a very tough fight when it does, is extremely rewarding.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>What is your most memorable experience on the job?<\/strong><br \/>\n<em><br \/>\nWhen I testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. After months of research I came to the startling conclusion the U.S. military was more top-heavy than it had ever been in U.S. history. Coincidentally, around the same time I learned the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel was holding a hearing on this exact issue. So, I contacted them and offered my research to help them with the hearing, and they invited me to testify alongside a few guys with a lot of stars on their soldiers. I was equally honored and terrified\u2026particularly when Senator Lindsey Graham asked me a numbers question that I, a self-professed data nerd, didn\u2019t have the answer to. I made a tactical retreat and said I\u2019d provide the information to him later.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Dr. Freeman also answered some fun questions for us:<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you could have front-row seats to any concert, which would you choose?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>My favorite band\u2014Pearl Jam. I\u2019ve seen them several times, but never that close. The last time I saw them Eddie Vedder shared his bottle of wine with some folks in the front row. So, if we could arrange that, I\u2019d be the happiest fan alive.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the happiest and\/or proudest moment of your life?<\/strong><br \/>\n<em><br \/>\nWhen I married my wife Jess Saracino. I\u2019ll never forget how radiant she looked\u2014it was almost like a supernatural glow.<\/em><br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\nWhat do you do for fun?<\/strong><br \/>\n<em><br \/>\nCrossfit. Triathlons. Basketball. Softball. Camping. Kayaking. Hiking. I\u2019m a nerd all day, so in my free time I like to do as much physical activity as possible.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>If you could eat only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>I\u2019ll quote Jimmy Buffett for this one, \u201cGive me oysters and beer for dinner every day of the year and I\u2019ll feel fine.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ben Freeman, \u201905, continues to benefit from his master\u2019s degree in political science from UCF. Dr. Freeman explained the knowledge he gained at UCF was immensely valuable as he worked toward his Ph.D at Texas A&amp;M University, and continues to help him in his current political work. While earning his Ph.D. in political science from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":10917,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5962,31,20,38,40,13,16,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-science-alumni","category-alumni-news","category-psaclassnotes","category-breaking-news","category-graduate-student-news","category-news","category-political-science-departments","category-shining-knights"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UCF Master\u2019s Degree Launches Alumnus\u2019 Career - College of Sciences News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-masters-degree-launches-alumnus-career\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UCF Master\u2019s Degree Launches Alumnus\u2019 Career - College of Sciences News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ben Freeman, \u201905, continues to benefit from his master\u2019s degree in political science from UCF. Dr. Freeman explained the knowledge he gained at UCF was immensely valuable as he worked toward his Ph.D at Texas A&amp;M University, and continues to help him in his current political work. While earning his Ph.D. in political science from [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-masters-degree-launches-alumnus-career\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"College of Sciences News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-12-01T06:00:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-06-18T19:55:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Julia Anderson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2014\/10\/bfreeman-230x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Julia Anderson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/ucf-masters-degree-launches-alumnus-career\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/ucf-masters-degree-launches-alumnus-career\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Julia Anderson\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6351d7b539198ab5410a0f11a1c6be65\"},\"headline\":\"UCF Master\u2019s Degree Launches Alumnus\u2019 Career\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-01T06:00:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-18T19:55:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/ucf-masters-degree-launches-alumnus-career\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":877,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/ucf-masters-degree-launches-alumnus-career\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/bfreeman-230x300.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Alumni - 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