Advancing Global Security with Attention to Mental Health

Published July 9, 2026 | Request Information

Lauren Link believes that understanding people is the key to understanding global security.

As a student in the MA in Global Security Studies program at Johns Hopkins University, Link studies irregular warfare, strategic competition, and international conflict. Outside the classroom, she volunteers as a mental health support group leader with the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

“People can experience the same event and interpret it in completely different ways,” she said. “Understanding those differences is important in the mental health field, but it’s also important when you’re studying conflict, security, and how societies respond to challenges.”

Link initially thought she would study psychology. Instead, her interests in language, rhetoric, and analysis led her to international affairs at Florida State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in the discipline with a sociology concentration and a certificate in U.S. intelligence policy.

“I always knew I wanted to do something that would allow me to make a positive impact,” she said. “International affairs gave me a way to combine my interests in language, analysis, and understanding people.”

Several professors helped shape her academic interests, particularly Azat Zana Gündoğan, whose FSU’s courses focused on global development and urbanization and deepened her interest in development, irregular warfare and conflict patterns.

“I took every one of his classes,” Link said. “He was a fantastic mentor, and his courses really influenced my interests.”

After completing her undergraduate degree in just three years, Link began the Johns Hopkins program only weeks after graduation. Drawn by its applied approach, and with the blessing of her supportive family, she moved to Washington, D.C., to complete the program in person.

“I value the relationships you build with professors and classmates,” she said. “Being in person has been important for my academic growth, networking, and building professional connections.”

At Hopkins, she has particularly enjoyed studying war gaming, structured analytic techniques, and asymmetric warfare – subjects that align closely with her concentration in strategic studies and her interest in irregular warfare.

Although she is among the youngest students in the program – and will be just 21 when she graduates in 2027 – Link says learning alongside classmates with military, government, and professional backgrounds has been one of the most rewarding aspects of the experience.

“I was a little nervous at first, but even people who have years of military service come into this program on the same playing field as the girl who was in a sorority five months ago,” she said with a laugh. “We all bring different experiences, but we’re working toward the same goal. That diversity pushes you beyond your normal ways of thinking.”

Outside the classroom, Link has continued the mental health advocacy work she began as a freshman at Florida State. Through NAMI, she facilitates support groups, helping participants navigate challenges and connect with resources.

“Mental health has always been incredibly important to me,” she said. “I’ve seen the impact that unaddressed mental health challenges can have on people and families, and that experience has shaped how I view the world.”

Today, her academic interests focus on the Middle East and North Africa, strategic studies, and intelligence analysis.

“I enjoy a good research project,” Link said. “I enjoy the literature review and the statistical analysis that go into it, and I love the process of forming a final argument. I find that fun.

“The professors that I have had thus far at Hopkins have been fantastic,” she continued. “I have definitely seen opportunities through this program that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. It has been a really valuable and natural extension of my academic journey. I thrive on a challenge, and I am enjoying it.”

After graduation, she hopes to find her niche in the field, either in strategic analysis through a Federally Funded Research Development Center or in a more actionable role in strategic operations. For now, Link is focused on continuing to learn and exploring the intersection of her interests.

“I have always held a global viewpoint, especially when it comes to interconnectedness and intersectionality,” she said. “Where sociological and security perspectives intersect is where I am the most interested. My experiences in mental health have shaped how I navigate the world. This program has allowed me to engage deeply with questions about security trends, policies, motivations, and how conflict evolves. Whether it’s mental health or security studies, I’m ultimately interested in understanding those connections and using that understanding to help people and make an impact.”