C/CPT Jordan Barrocas awarded the Dr. Barry D. Friedman Scholarship
Jordan Barrocas, a Dahlonega campus-based junior Strategic and Security Studies (SSST) major and a Captain in our Corps of Cadets, has been awarded the Dr. Barry Friedman Scholarship in Political Science & International Affairs for the 2025-2026 Academic Year. He follows in the footsteps of our two previous recipients Victoria Landa, IA’24 and Fatima Santillan, PS/pre-Law ‘25.
The Scholarship Selection Committee, headed by Associate Department Head Dr. Viman-Miller selected Jordan after receiving numerous deserving submissions. We asked Dr. Edward Mienie, (Director of our SSST program) about what made Jordan stand out: “Jordan has taken several of my national intelligence classes and has been an outstanding student. He maintained at least an A average in all my classes. I am impressed by his drive to deliver work of quality and was kept up to date from the language lab about his progress towards improving his already outstanding command of the English language. Jordan is all about delivering work of excellence. He is very deserving of this scholarship.”
Jordan hails from Atlanta, GA and is a graduate of the Academy at SOAR in North Carolina. “I felt fortunate when I got the email that I had gotten the scholarship! Jordan says. “I had really just thrown my name in with a personal statement and had not expected to get awarded it. I am excited that they [the Selection Committee] were willing to choose me for this and I feel fortunate to have had such excellent professors as part of the Strategic and Security Studies program here in Dahlonega.”
Jordan plans to use the funds to “bring down the costs of school. This scholarship is perfect for making my senior year in Dahlonega more affordable and frees up more money for my international internship this summer in Athens, Greece, which helps me to breathe a bit easier. My future plans are to attend graduate school for international relations & public policy and then begin my service as an officer in the US Army. I look forward to being more involved in my country`s future and perhaps one day being able to help people by creating meaningful policy changes as a civil servant.”
The $1,000 grant comes courtesy of our PSIA Department scholarship which seeks to make learning more affordable, reward students that study hard, and show our students that the PSIA department truly cares about them. The scholarship is named in honor of Professor Emeritus Dr. Barry Friedman, professor of political science from 1992-2021.
Congratulations to Jordan on becoming our third recipient of the Dr. Barry D. Friedman Scholarship!
[Editor's note] The Department is excited to provide this award to Jordan and would like to thank all those who have contributed so far to the scholarship fund. If YOU would like to join our growing list of donors and help us continue to provide future students' assistance via this scholarship, visit our .