In an increasingly polarized world, Stanford University Students Yara Elian and Ana Agarwal discuss with Colonel Melinda Acuña (US Army) the dangers of division and how essential it is to our society to engage with one another especially when we disagree.
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ABOUT THE FELLOW & MENTEE
Lieutenant Colonel Melinda J. Acuña, representing the US Army, is a national security affairs fellow at the Hoover Institution for the academic year 2024–25. Acuña is a logistics officer and has served in variety of assignments in the United States, Europe, Middle East, and Indo-Pacific. She has also deployed to Iraq multiple times.
Yara Elian is a rising senior and student-athlete at Stanford University, majoring in International Relations with a focus on International Security and Economic Development. She competes in artistic swimming and helped lead Stanford to the 2023 U.S. Collegiate Championship (Team).
Ana Agarwal, Stanford University Class of 2025, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations. She concentrated in International Security within her major, and her final capstone investigated why the Department of Defense has been slow to integrate small attritable drones into its military forces. Post grad, Ana will be joining McKinsey and Company in New York City.
