Prepared for Success

By Amanda (Shine ’05) Zambrano

When Houghton Student Body President Cody Johnson ’24 began his U.S. State Department internship in the summer of 2023, he worried about how he would keep up with his peers from major universities, including Ivy League institutions. As a first-generation college student from a small, rural institution, Cody had no idea if he was prepared for the challenges ahead. As it turns out, there was no need for him to worry.

“I have so much appreciation for the ways Houghton prepared me,” Cody shares. “The soft skills I developed prepared me to do my internship work. I accomplished more than my peers because of the things I’ve learned at Houghton.”

Cody participated in a Foreign Service internship with the U.S. Department of State in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. He spent much time researching foreign policy in Latin America and the Caribbean. As a political science major with a minor in German studies, Cody went into his internship with almost no knowledge of the topic at hand. He wasn’t handicapped in his work, however, because Cody had spent three years at Houghton developing his skills as a critical thinker, writer, and researcher.

I accomplished more than my peers because of the things I’ve learned at Houghton.

Cody speaks highly of his time studying with Houghton Professor Peter Meilaender. As Cody has worked with Professor Meilaender on his senior honors project, focusing on nationalism in the U.S. National Security strategies of the post-Cold War Era, he’s been stretched and challenged. Cody remarks. “Professor Meilaender constantly reminds me I can always improve,” Cody remarks. “I can always use better logic, I can always find better support for my positions, I can always improve my writing. It isn’t enough to just do a ‘good’ job.”

Cody also speaks highly of his liberal arts opportunities at Houghton. “I came to Houghton to major in human resources. However, Professor Meilaender encouraged me to be more flexible, to take classes I was interested in, and to build a major. I’ve learned that God has made me do many more things than the one track I’d put myself on. I’m made to be a full person, and I don’t have to be only one thing.”

This flexible approach served Cody well. The combination of spending a semester in London with Houghton’s first-year Honors program and the willingness to broaden his horizons through a varied course selection has refined Cody’s sense of calling into diplomacy. Cody reflects on three courses in particular.

“I took a class called Just War? with Professor Ben Lipscomb. Professor Lipscomb is Mennonite, but he knows that war is a reality in our world. That class was an opportunity for me to think deeply about how my Christian ethic applies to the ways the world works. I’ve discovered that my faith doesn’t limit me to one specific way of thinking. This has been an invaluable lesson as I look to apply practical and ethical thinking to matters of foreign policy. Above all, I want my decisions to be consistent with my ethics.”

Another influential course for Cody was Building Shalom: Justice, Love, and the Christian Life with Professor Kristina LaCelle Peterson ’82. “While Just War? made me think about my faith differently, Building Shalom made me think about the world differently. I began to realize all the ways Christians can make a difference in our world through the discovery of a Christian ethic of love in justice issues. These two classes worked together to help me think more critically about the world where I’ll work as a Christian.”

I am discovering a dialectical relationship between my core discipline and other disciplines.

The third class is Music and Global Cultures in Christian Perspective with Professor David Clem ’05, MMus ’07. “I’m discovering a dialectical relationship between my core discipline and other disciplines, and I’m exploring how my studies in political theory overlap with other topics.” Cody is developing an appreciation and understanding of other cultures, which will be invaluable as he serves people from around the world. In addition to his academic successes, Cody is a gifted musician, routinely performing with the Houghton Lyric Theatre, Men’s Choir, and Chamber Choir and working in the Greatbatch School of Music as a collaborative pianist.

This kind of intentional and systematic processing of the world around him – which, incidentally, is Cody’s definition of critical thinking – has set Cody’s career on an exciting trajectory. After graduation this year, Cody will continue his educational journey as a Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellow. This two-year program provides scholarship funds and a stipend to pursue a master’s degree in international affairs at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, an internship with the U.S. Congress, an internship with the U.S. State Department, and an appointment as a Foreign Service Officer after graduation. The program is sponsored by the U.S. State Department.

I’ve learned God had made me to do many more things than the one track I’d put myself on. I’m made to be a full person, I don’t have to be only one thing.