Daniel Hurley may have two jobs right now, but the 2017 honors graduate of Mercer County Community College (MCCC) has one unifying vision: to advance human rights in U.S. foreign policy.
Hurley explained that human security is an approach to understanding global vulnerabilities that is fairly new in international relations.
The Hay Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think-tank organization founded with the mission of promoting discussion of human security around the globe. Hurley’s research will become part of the institute’s Annual Report series, which serves as a resource for scholars, government agencies and civil society, according to the statement.
Hurley, who has been interested in this domain of international affairs for quite some time, has suddenly found his research uncannily timely in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. He explained that human security is broken down into several areas, with health security being one.
For Hurley, his work with The Hay Institute is a dream come true for the political science major who has been interested in politics, U.S. foreign policy and human security both before and throughout college, according to the statement.
“Before coming to MCCC, I had engaged in domestic politics by working on several political campaigns as a volunteer and intern, including for former Congressman Rush Holt, Assemblyman Daniel Benson, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman and Plainsboro Township Committee candidates,” the former MCCC honors student said in the statement. “While at MCCC, I was also elected to my first term as a county committeeman for the Middlesex County Democratic Organization.”
Hurley explained that he has always been drawn to domestic politics and global affairs, with an “ultimate goal of pursuing a career in public service.” But prior to entering college, Hurley was uncertain which major he felt most passionate about based on his varying but related interests.
After his first semester at MCCC, Hurley gravitated toward international affairs and decided that his professional ambitions aligned with a career in U.S. foreign policy. During the summer of 2019 he had the opportunity to engage in U.S. foreign policy by completing an internship with Senator Bob Menendez’s staff for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, D.C., according to the statement.
Hurley’s next stop will be graduate school where he will pursue a master’s degree in security studies, specializing in the nexus between human rights and national security.
Plans are in place for after he completes graduate school as well.