RCLS Student Scholars Program
The Reiss Center on Law and Security Student Scholars Program provides NYU Law students research and mentorship opportunities in the field of national security law and policy. The competitive selection process seeks to identify outstanding 2L and 3L students with relevant academic and professional experience who are interested in pursuing careers in national security. The Student Scholar position is compensated.
Student Scholars contribute to the Reiss Center’s mission and research agenda by working closely with and providing research for the Reiss Center’s leadership and experts; working with the Just Security team, including potential opportunities to publish in the online forum; and contributing to the development and execution of the Reiss Center’s program of work. Student Scholars are encouraged to attend the Reiss Center’s many events and panel discussions and invited to participate in the Reiss Center’s private convenings with leading figures in the field. They are provided opportunities to participate in national security events and fora outside of NYU. Student Scholars enjoy mentorship opportunities from a diverse range of national security thinkers and practitioners, and are encouraged to become integral members of the national security law and policy community that the Reiss Center works to cultivate at NYU School of Law.
Applications
The application period for the 2020-21 Student Scholars Program is now closed. Information on the application process for the 2021-22 year will be released in spring 2021.

Nicholas Tonckens is a 2L at NYU School of Law, where he is Co-President of the National Security Law Society, Research Assistant for Professor Barry Friedman, and Staff Editor at the Review of Law and Social Change . He is also a Student Staff Editor at Just Security. During law school, Nicholas has interned with the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, as well as the global digital rights NGO Access Now. Prior to law school, he worked on international law and security issues at think tanks in Boston and Washington, DC. He graduated cum laude from Bowdoin College in 2016 with a B.A. in Government and Russian.



Erica Ma participated in the student scholars program as a 2L at NYU School of Law, where she was a Staff Editor for the New York University Law Review. Prior to law school, she worked at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, an international security think tank in Washington, DC. Over her 1L summer, she worked with the United Nations International Law Commission in New York and Geneva under the auspices of the NYU International Law and Human Rights Fellowship Program, providing research on topics relating to the law of armed conflict. Her interests include international humanitarian law, the use of force, and emerging technologies in armed conflict. Erica earned a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, magna cum laude, in International Relations and Modern Middle Eastern Studies.
Ariana Navarro Rowberry participated in the student scholars program as a 2L at NYU School of Law, where she was a Staff Editor for the NYU Journal of International Law and Politics and the President of the National Security Law Society. Prior to law school, she served as a Special Assistant on the National Security Council during the Obama Administration, where she staffed the Senior Directors for North Africa and Yemen, and Israel, Egypt, and the Levant. She also interned in Vice President Biden’s National Security Affairs Office. She spent her 1L summer at the Department of Justice’s National Security Division in the Office of Law and Policy. Earlier, Ariana worked at the Arms Control and Nonproliferation Initiative at the Brookings Institution as a Herbert Scoville Jr. Fellow. While there, Ariana researched the evolution of the U.S.-Japanese alliance. Ariana’s career in national security began working on nuclear policy at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Ariana has a BA from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with highest honors in Peace, War, and Defense and Political Science.