By MC2 Shawn J. Stewart

New NPS Department of National Security Affairs (NSA) Assistant Professors Diego Esparza, left, Covell Meyskens, center, and Rachel Sigman, right, are pictured outside Herrmann Hall, Oct. 7. Esparza, Meyskens and Sigman were all recently hired by the NSA Department.

"I think that my impact will be grounded in two things," said Esparza, an expert in Latin America studies. "I will provide students with different perspectives on how to analyze and understand the world … [and] my expertise in policing will serve to help our armed forces understand issues of public security and social order."

Sigman hopes to draw upon her expertise in Africa studies to help NPS students to understand the effects of political competition on state capacity in African democracies.

"In addition to providing an exciting learning environment for my students, I am looking forward to finding ways to apply my research in a manner that will enrich the operations of the Navy and the [Department of Defense]," said Sigman.

Meyskens is looking forward to having a positive impact on his students.

"As a historian, my goal is to provide students with the tools to think about contemporary global issues in a historically informed manner," said Meyskens. "How did Europe come to be a dominant global force over the past few centuries? How did Europe's rise affect other parts of the world? These and other big historical questions are what I work through with students in class."

The NSA Department specializes in the study of international relations, security policy, and regional studies and brings together students from across the DOD in an effort to encourage critical thinking and intellectual independence.