Laura Mészáros is pursuing her law degree at Széchenyi István University in Győr, Hungary. Her academic interests began to take shape during her years at Krúdy Gyula Secondary School, where she became fascinated by history, international relations, sociology, psychology, and politics. She believes that history is one of the most valuable disciplines because it not only helps societies understand the present but also offers insight into future political and social developments. Looking back, she considers her high school environment especially formative: the coexistence of vocational and academic education within the same institution reflected the duality that would later define many of her own interests and experiences.

Alongside her legal studies, Laura entered the international fashion industry as a high fashion model, working in cities including Shanghai, Hong Kong, Athens, Istanbul, and Budapest. Through international campaigns and creative productions, she gained firsthand experience in multicultural environments and had the opportunity to observe the inner workings of marketing, public relations, branding, and production processes behind the scenes. While the fashion and film industries initially meant a creative outlet, these experiences also deepened her awareness of labor rights and human rights issues within global industries.

IFES envisions a world where people are free, societies are democratic, and elections are fair. They collaborate with civil society, public institutions, and the private sector to build resilient democracies that deliver for everyone. As a global leader in the promotion and protection of democracy, their technical assistance and applied research develop trusted electoral bodies capable of conducting credible elections; effective and accountable governing stakeholders; civic and political processes in which all people can safely and equally participate; and innovative ways in which technology and data can positively serve elections and democracy.

Levente is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Corvinus University of Budapest, where he studies International Business Economics in English. His academic path has been shaped by a strong interest in the intersection of finance, entrepreneurship, and public policy. His studies have also taken him abroad: he spent an exchange semester at the Stockholm School of Economics, where he studied startup-related courses in an international environment. Alongside his university studies, Levente has actively sought practical experiences that connect business, innovation, and public affairs. He previously worked as a Finance Intern at Morgan Stanley in Budapest and currently works as a Business Development Associate at WiredSign Zrt., a Hungarian contract lifecycle management company, where he contributes to building the company’s financial model, advising on business strategy, conducting customer interviews, supporting fundraising activities, and coordinating external partners. He has also completed several startup, venture capital, consulting, and M&A-focused programs, including the Hungarian Startup University Program, Niveus Startup Valuation Course, Wolf Theiss M&A Course, and Deloitte Consulting Course, where he received a “Best-Performing Student” award.

Founded in 1913, ASLRRA proudly represents the entrepreneurial owners and operators of short line and regional railroads throughout North America. These approximately 600 small businesses play a vital role in the hub-and-spoke transportation network, often providing the first-mile/last-mile connection between farmers and manufacturers and the ultimate consumer.

Csenge Orsolya Balogh is completing her second year in International Business and Economics at Corvinus University of Budapest while also being a student at Rajk College for Advanced Studies. Her intellectual interests lie at the intersection of economics, public policy, and health.

Driven by this belief, she first explored this professionally by supporting VitrofluidiX, a health- tech startup, with market research through the Creative Destruction Lab program organized by ESMT Berlin. Wanting to bring this passion closer to her own community, she participated in the Design Terminal startup competition with a social startup idea aimed at building stronger student communities through sport, addressing the need for belonging and connection among Hungarian college students. Alongside this, she served as project leader of MOVE at MCC, coordinating a team of fifty students and organizing sports events and community programs.

The American Legislative Exchange Council is America’s largest nonpartisan, voluntary membership organization of state legislators dedicated to the principles of limited government, free markets and federalism. Comprised of nearly one-quarter of the country’s state legislators and stakeholders from across the policy spectrum, ALEC members represent more than 60 million Americans and provide jobs to more than 30 million people in the United States.

Ádám Turi is a committed community advocate who is studying law at Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest and already holds a degree in political science.

Ádám was only 15 when he was elected student council president at his high school and soon after became the founding president of Komárom’s Student Council Alliance. What began as a small, ambitious group of students quickly grew into a vibrant local youth movement, launching school radio, student clubs, and citywide events that sparked a culture of participation. This early experience in community building and advocacy set the stage for his later roles: President of Pázmány University’s Student Union, Vice President of the National Youth Council, and today, President of the Hungarian Youth Conference and Komárom’s youngest elected municipal representative.

Founded in 2010 by Tucker Carlson, a 20-year veteran journalist, and Neil Patel, former chief policy advisor to Vice President Cheney, the Daily Caller is one of America’s largest and fastest-growing news publications.

Barna holds an MA in Russian Studies and Politics from the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated with distinction. His dissertation examined the development of Eurasianist thought and its representation in Russian media.

Barna’s professional path bridges the private sector and non-profit leadership. He is the co-founder of Fiatalok Batthyány Köre. This cultural and educational organization empowers students and young professionals to engage with critical policy challenges and advances cross-sectoral dialogue. Barna is also passionate about energy policy and geopolitics. His interests in these critical fields are reflected in both his work in various research and consulting roles and his publications. Throughout his studies and career, he has demonstrated a deep commitment to transatlantic cooperation, strengthened through fellowships at the American Enterprise Institute, the Hertog Foundation, and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where he immersed himself in the study of foreign policy, political theory, and economic statecraft.

Founded in 2022, the Yorktown Institute focuses on great power competition and the U.S. naval and military supremacy that must undergird American grand strategy. This will require alliance-building, restoring economic and manufacturing potential, defending national institutions, and reorienting naval and military power toward the “supercontinent” of Eurasia.

Matte Keller is a Hungarian-American rising senior at New Hope–Solebury High School in Pennsylvania. Born in New York City to a Hungarian mother and American father, he grew up surrounded by three cultures—Hungarian, Chinese, and American—that shaped how he sees the world. From studying Mandarin since he was little to attending the United Nations International School, Matte has always been curious about global issues and how people connect across cultures.

Hungary Foundation’s mission is to create lasting value by reviving and strengthening the cultural and educational bonds between the United States and Hungary, as well as Hungary and the diverse Hungarian American community. HF promotes cooperation and understanding between our two nations, fostering democracy, freedom, human rights, and human dignity, the dearest values of our history and our people.

András holds a law degree from Babeș-Bolyai University in Kolozsvár/Cluj-Napoca (Romania), a master’s degree in philosophy from the same institution, and earned his PhD summa cum laude at Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest. His doctoral dissertation introduced and analyzed the concept of ‘domosity’ and its role in the international legal protection of national minorities.

András’s professional path combines academia, advocacy, and community engagement. He is the founder and director of the Advocacy Group for Freedom of Identity, dedicated to litigation and advocacy for minority rights. He also co-founded the Musai-Muszáj language rights movement and serves as the founder and artistic director of the Méra World Music Festival. His commitment to the Hungarian minority from Romania is reflected both in his publications in Hungarian, Romanian, and English on minority rights, and in his academic work as a visiting lecturer at Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania, where he taught minority rights and public international law, as well as in his active involvement in the educational programs of Mathias Corvinus Collegium in Transylvania, Romania.

The mission of Duke Law School is to advance knowledge and the rule of law through open, rigorous, and collaborative education and scholarly inquiry, and to help build and sustain a dynamic legal profession that embodies commitment to equal justice, ethical leadership, diversity of perspective and experience, public service, and the highest standards of client representation.

After graduating from Eötvös Loránd University with an M.A. degree in sociology, he earned his Ph.D. in sociology (summa cum laude) at Corvinus University of Budapest, where he completed his habilitation in communication and media science last year.

Formerly, he was a researcher at the Information Society Research Center (ITTK) at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. During his professional career, Levente worked with several renowned market and opinion research institutes. He is currently the director of the Youth Research Institute, a habilitated associate professor at the Institute of Marketing and Communication Sciences at Corvinus University of Budapest, a mentor at the Baptist Theological Academy, and the head of the Center for Sociology at Mathias Corvinus Collegium.

The Schar School of Policy and Government is located where policy happens, they deliver a bird’s-eye-view of how government really works and how policy is made. 

Their faculty members are experts on policy, politics, government, national security, intelligence, defense, and everything in-between, with many having served at the highest levels of government. 

They prepare students to be future leaders and managers who advance the public good by helping to solve problems across both the private and public sectors. 

With the generous gift from Dwight Schar, the Schar School is poised at the forefront of innovation and education in helping to shape the policy leaders of tomorrow.