Kala Hagen is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. Her studies are concentrated on international development in Africa and she has a particular interest in anti-corruption work and the use of community-driven development solutions as a means of preventing terrorism. Prior to coming to Georgetown, Kala served in the United States Navy as Cryptologic Language Analyst specializing in Arabic and Somali and focusing on counterterrorism. Her military career spanned nine years from 2011 to 2020. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Florida in 2019, attending classes online while she was active duty.

While in the Navy, Kala was stationed at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA, Fort Gordon, GA, the Defense Language Institute – Washington, and Fort Meade, MD. She also had the good fortune to be selected for several language immersion programs, including spending a month in Rabat, Morocco and attending Middlebury College’s Summer Language Program in Oakland, California. After finishing her graduate degree, she aspires to serve with the State Department or USAID to make the world a safer and more just place through better, more humanitarian foreign policy.

"I chose MSFS because, from the exceptional faculty made up of vanguard foreign policy practitioners to the tight-knit, brilliant cohort, it offers unparalleled academic, professional, and personal opportunities that I couldn't refuse."