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Joseph Katz (MPA '11): Global Leadership Awards Dinner
As an MPA candidate focusing on Environmental Science and Policy, my journey to SIPA has been a little different than most. Different because, as an active-duty Major currently serving in the United States Army, the first steps of my journey began in the lush poppy fields of Afghanistan, then quickly moved on to the dry and dusty oil fields of central Iraq. It was there I saw first-hand the unpleasant collision of our nation’s national security interests and its often frustrating, quite costly, and environmentally damaging national energy policy. After almost 2-½ years being deployed to foreign lands around the globe, I felt compelled to come back home and take bold steps toward fixing the problems I’ve seen. Now - one month away from graduation from this great institution - I can’t help but smile when I think about where I’ve been, and the path that lies ahead.
I grew up in a small farm town on the eastern edge of Iowa, more than a few miles outside Manhattan. After four years at West Point, and the events of September 11, I soon found myself on an airplane with other members of the 25th Infantry Division – headed to help secure central and eastern Afghanistan. An absolutely beautiful place, with truly wonderful and courageous people. Aside from a few skirmishes with the Taliban and the occasional rocket fired at our base, life really wasn’t all that bad. After a year in-country, I went kicking and screaming when I was told our unit would be returning to Honolulu, Hawaii for the next three years.
The President, our Congress, and the Pentagon have a funny way of changing their minds though, and that three years of beach time and Mai Tais was cut off after only one. The insurgency in Iraq had gained increased momentum, and we were being called on to quell the violence and give the newly elected government of Iraq a chance to stand on its feet.
I was sent to the city of Kirkuk, where I was given command of a 110-man element and charged with rooting out Al Qaeda foreign fighters who had been terrorizing the local villagers between Kirkuk and Tikrit. The area was a valuable one for Al Qaeda, and subsequently for us, because of the strategic crude oil pipelines that ran from oil fields in the north down to refineries in the south. We were assigned the protection of six villages, all of the citizens there within, and over 100 kilometers of oil pipeline.
When I received word of this challenging and extremely dangerous mission we’d been assigned, my response was the same as I’m sure every SIPA alum would have when faced with such a difficult challenge: SOUNDS GREAT, LET’S GET STARTED!
The next nine months proved to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Despite some initial challenges and more than a few close calls (I was personally welcomed into one of these villages with a not-so-friendly rocket-propelled grenades (RPG) flying about 10 feet in front of my nose on my first patrol into the area) we left 9 months later – not to RPGs or hails of gunfire - but to the hugs and tears of the local villagers who had become dear friends. The embraces were true, the emotions laid bare. Together we had rooted out the terrorists who had plagued their lives since the fall of Saddam. We had brought back basic life services such as electricity, clean water, and schools for their children. And we had done it sweating side-by-side together - pride clearly evident on all our faces.
While extremely difficult, this experience only served to reinforce my belief that throughout the world, despite differences in where we are born, the language we speak, or which evil forces try to tear us apart, we share a bond that adversity only strengthens. People are good. And those of us blessed with good fortune have an unspoken duty to help those who are not.
In addition to the great international experience with the Afghan and Iraqi people, the other driving force which brought me to SIPA was my first-hand look at the production, distribution, and American dependence on foreign oil. Not only was a war being waged at tremendous financial, emotional, and physical cost for this precious commodity, but the overwhelming environmental toll on the land and its people was heart-breaking. Pools of oil three to four feet deep and acres wide would sit idly next to a farm village or well-travelled highway due to pipeline sabotage, disrepair, or local plundering. Children bathed in puddles of dirty rain water just feet from the black sludge and oozing crude that contaminated centuries-old farm land. The taste of noxious oils permeating my senses for weeks after I returned to America. I didn’t think I was an environmentalist. But these sights. These memories. They pulled on something deep inside me that said “this just isn’t right. We can do better. We need to do better”.
After 15 months spent fighting to protect the people of Iraq and defeat our nation’s enemies, I left with a passionate and vigorous desire. A desire to work with the international community to make our world a better place. And with its well-earned reputation for producing leaders of character, I knew there was no better place to pursue that vision than SIPA.
People often ask me, “So what are you going to do when you graduate? How are you going to put this degree – an MPA focused in Environmental Science and Policy – to use in the Army?” And you know what? That’s a hell of a question!
But then I think about the most important lesson SIPA has taught me. It’s that ONE PERSON CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.
One person can have a dream, and soon bring racial equality to a nation divided.
One person can drop out of Harvard and completely restructure the way we communicate.
One person can demand change, and start a sweeping revolution in Tunisia.
ONE PERSON. CAN. CHANGE THE WORLD. And I’m pretty sure that person is going to be ME. Or Gohar. Or everyone in this room and the millions of people around the world that SIPA graduates have touched in either small ways or profound. We can do it. We must do it!
Thankfully, SIPA has provided my classmates and me with the necessary tools for what will likely be the enduring, and at times frustrating, challenges that lie ahead. You know what, though? I’m ready. No matter which challenges lay ahead, I’ve never been more excited about the future than I am right now. And for that, I say THANK YOU SIPA, AND THANK ALL OF YOU TONIGHT.