As an undergrad at Goucher College Marielle Roth gained top secret security clearance as one of only 13 students a year chosen to participate in the National Security Scholars Program. The program enabled her to work with a government contractor on a special project, gaining valuable practical experience as an intern.
Roth interned with AT&T Government Solutions in their product development department during the summer of 2010. In this internship she was part of a product development team that created artificial intelligence applications used by military troops on the ground in Iraq.
Roth has since completed her B.A. in mathematics and philosophy and now attends Georgetown University, pursuing a M.A. in security studies with a concentration in intelligence. She hopes to graduate in December 2015 and pursue a position in the intelligence analysis field related to her interests and studies.
When asked about specific future career aspirations Roth said: “I’m trying not to set a goal of any particular job so as not to risk the disappointment of not achieving this goal.”
However, if her success in the past is an indicator of the outcome of her future career development, she will have nothing to be disappointed about.
In addition to thriving professionally and academically, Roth began studying Israeli Krav Maga in 2009. She first encountered the art when she was only 9 years old watching a demonstration at a local mall and her interest was sparked.
“I find Krav Maga to be very logical and instinctual, and while it may not be the most attractive martial art, it is highly street-effective,” Roth said.
Krav Maga incorporates different aspects of fighting: groundwork, standup fighting, hand-to-hand, hand-to-weapon and nearly every other scenario a person could encounter defending oneself. The art is relatively new and therefore still evolving; techniques continue developing and the study of the Krav Maga remains dynamic, but few schools exist in the United States, Roth said.
An internship of interest
Roth has a wealth of experience in the academic disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), but is excited for her internship with START because it marks her first experience in a non-STEM position and the first step in a new direction professionally.
She is interning with the START/State Department program. “The whole conception of this project is wonderful and imaginative and I’m really enjoying getting to work as part of a team,” Roth said.
Although her internship with START does not incorporate her study of Israeli Krav Maga, Roth believes the principles of the art can be applied on a larger scale than self-defense. Krav Maga techniques mirror those of techniques used in the professional field of security. Both teach the user to cope with attacks of varying severity while taking into account all influencing factors as quickly as possible for maximum effects. She hopes to apply these practices, when possible, in other aspects of her life.