Pictured: Lance Borders (L) and recent UNG Alum Andres Barcenas (R) 

[Note: portions of the article are from a UNG News article titled “Olmsted Grants Supports Cadets’ Overseas Learning” https://ung.edu/news/articles/2023/02/olmsted-grant-supports-cadets-overseas-learning.php]  

Cadet Lance Borders, a senior international affairs major, received funding from the George and Carol Olmsted Foundation to participate in a three-month internship at the NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy during the Fall 2022 semester.  

The Olmsted Foundation supports cadets from UNG, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, and Georgia State University. Just this year, UNG received a $22,000 grant from the Olmsted foundation to help support these international opportunities for cadets. 

After completing his degree, Lance aims to join the Air Force to either work in military intelligence or fly planes.  

Lance said, “this overseas experience was impactful [because] I met and networked with many military officers from different countries militaries for example, I was placed in a committee with high-ranking officers from many Arab militaries and along with many other European countries as well.” 

“My time within the PSIA department provided me with a general knowledge and understanding of NATO and what it does. It gave me a foundation of understanding policies and security, etc., that I could build on while being there.” 

[Author: Orla Fennell, IA’23]