Rebecca Ajtai is a senior studying international relations with a focus on foreign policy and national security with the German language minor at American University. She has a great interest in EU policy, and immigration issues, and has conducted research on the democratic decline and other relevant topics over the course of her undergraduate education.

Growing up with strong ties to her Hungarian heritage, she was a member of the Hungarian Scouts in Buffalo, NY for many years, where she learned about Hungarian history and culture, going on to eventually teach younger troop members. She also travels to Hungary annually to visit family and friends.

The Hungary Foundation is a solely charitable 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The Foundation pursues its mission and goals by supporting Hungarian-American organizations and by supporting programs that strengthen interaction and cooperation between Hungarian and American citizens and institutions. In particular, the Foundation is focused on supporting cultural, educational and scholarly activities. The Foundation does not participate in political activities, political or election campaigns.

Miklos Leszko obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Obuda University in 2020. During his bachelor studies, he gained experience in development and project management roles at Knorr–Bremse Fékrendszerek Kft and Vincotech Hungára Kft. At the end of his bachelor studies he earned a Campus Mundi Erasmus Scholarship at Hochschule Esslingen University of Applied Sciences and spent a semester in Esslingen am Neckar, Germany. After finishing his degree, he worked full–time as a sales support engineer at Reynaers Aluminium Kft in Hungary. He started his Master’s studies as a full–time Mechanical Engineering Modelling student at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics parallelly with his full–time job. He obtained his degree in Mechanical Engineering Modelling in 2022.

His technical skillset and interest in business drove him to take a role as an Aftersales Zone Manager at Ford Motor Company where he worked till he joined the Hungarian American Business Leaders Scholarship Program.

Quinnipiac University

is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution in Hamden and North Haven, Connecticut, offering more than 140 programs to an estimated 6,800 undergraduates and 3,000 graduate, medical and law students. Quinnipiac prepares graduates as enlightened global citizens equipped for the challenges and opportunities of 21st-century careers.

Viktor obtained his first master’s degree in history and aesthetics in 2008 at the Faculty of Humanities of Eötvös Loránd University (ELU). Two years later, he earned his second degree in security and defense studies from the Miklós Zrínyi National Defense University. In the meantime, he started his Ph.D. studies at the ELU Doctoral School of Modern History, and defended his dissertation, which examined the Somali state building after decolonization, in 2014.

From 2010-2011, Viktor worked for the Hungarian Ministry of Defense. Since 2012, he has been working for the University of Public Service, first as a junior lecturer, later as an assistant professor, and now as an associate professor. In 2017, he won the János Bolyai Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He also got a position at the Budapest-based Migration Research Institute (MRI) in 2017. He became the research director of MRI in 2019, and director in 2022. His main research areas focus on the migration trends of the African continent, African migration toward Europe, and the security aspects of migration. He is the author of three books and more than 160 book chapters and papers in academics, including Q-ranking journals.

The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit, research organization. Since our founding in 1985 by Otis Graham Jr., they have pursued a single mission – providing immigration policymakers, the academic community, news media, and concerned citizens with reliable information about the social, economic, environmental, security, and fiscal consequences of legal and illegal immigration into the United States. Our staff has testified before Congress over 130 times.

They are the nation’s only think tank devoted exclusively to the research of U.S. immigration policy to inform policymakers and the public about immigration’s far-reaching impact. The Center is animated by a unique pro-immigrant, low-immigration vision which seeks fewer immigrants but a warmer welcome for those admitted.

Bálint received his legal education in Romania and Hungary, obtaining his LL.B. diploma from Babeș-Bolyai University (Romania), and subsequently an M.A. in Private Law of the European Union from the same institution. He also graduated from the European and International Business Law LL.M. in a joint program of Debrecen University (Hungary) and Sapientia University (Romania), which then led to his enrollment into the University’s Ph.D. program.

During his bachelor’s degree, he was an active member of The European Law Students’ Association (ELSA), organizing local, national, and international moot court competitions, as well as competing in local and national ones. He gained essential experience working as an intern at a local law firm for nearly two years before graduating. This experience put him on a path to working in the field of business law after obtaining his bachelor’s degree.

Subsequent to starting his Ph.D. studies, he was invited to teach seminars on international economic law to fourth-year LL.B. students at Sapientia University (Romania) as a teaching assistant. Balint also teaches international commercial arbitration at the LL.M. program of Miskolc University as a visiting lecturer.

The spirit of American University, Washington College of Law lies in the hearts and minds of their community members, who are dedicated to the professional advancement and well-being of their students and alumni, and who strive to “Champion What Matters,” locally, nationally, and internationally.

At American University Washington College of Law, people meet the world where they will practice their profession. The world has become essentially borderless, where economic, political, and social changes require innovative legal analysis and solutions.

Lilla Nóra Kiss is a Post-Graduate Visiting Research Fellow at the Antonin Scalia Law School of George Mason University. Lilla completed her JD in 2015 at the University of Miskolc, Hungary. During her doctoral studies, she undertook the General and Juridical Mediator course and immersed herself in several international law programs (the Regional Academy on the United Nations (RAUN); the Academy of European Law (AEL) summer schools at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy.

Lilla completed her doctorate in 2018 and defended her thesis on the legal issues of Brexit in 2019. In 2020, she completed her third degree in European and International Business Law LLM at the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary. In addition to her academic studies, Lilla conducted lectures and seminars on European law, in both English and Hungarian.

She also served as a senior counselor specializing in EU law at the Ministry of Justice, State Secretariat for European Union Affairs in Budapest. As such, she has provided legal advice on institutional matters between the EU and the Member States, on the Future of Europe Conference, and some special topics including social media, which inspired her to apply to the Hungary Foundation’s Liberty Bridge Program. During her one-year post-doctoral research she will undertake a comparative analysis on how the US and the EU approach regulating social media.

The Antonin Scalia Law School is located just a few miles from downtown Washington, D.C., the nexus for the creation of the world’s most important legislation and jurisprudence.

During the past decade, the law school has been in the forefront of curricular innovation. Recognizing the rapid changes that are occurring in legal practice and the legal profession, Scalia Law School has been a pioneer in providing its students with an unique curriculum that gives students correspondingly unique advantages in today’s competitive employment market.