This profile was updated in June 2022 with Emiel Haeghebaert's new position. Below is the original profile, posted in September 2021.

Coming from a family in the software business, Emiel Haeghebaert had exposure to technology from childhood—his father even gave him coding books when he was a kid. At Vesalius College, an American-style liberal arts college in Brussels, he felt forced to choose between technology and international relations, and he ultimately focused his undergraduate degree on the latter. When he began looking for a master’s degree, however, he found that SSP would allow him to do both. He came to SSP with the support of the Belgian American Educational Foundation Fellowship, which offers funding for Belgian students to study at top-tier graduate programs in the U.S..

Emiel specifically sought out a graduate degree that offered a more policy-oriented curriculum to counterbalance the theory-heavy classes he took as an undergraduate, and to help him prepare for policy-related work following his graduate studies. Out of the programs he looked at, both in Europe and the United States, he found that SSP’s “theory and practice” approach best incorporated international relations theories with real-world issues, particularly in the growing field of cybersecurity.

Intelligence in the Cyber Domain, a class taught by SSP alumna and adjunct professor Meredith Burkhart, introduced him to the field of cybersecurity and taught him how to apply intelligence analysis to cybersecurity issues. After completing his first year at SSP, Emiel started working at FireEye as a Threat (and later Technical) Intelligence Analysis Intern, where he was able to build on his computer science experience while still applying his work to questions relating to international relations and security.

As an international student, Emiel found that his experience at SSP was different from domestic students. On top of the logistical issues he faced, such as visa requirements, his status as a foreign student presented unexpected complications—for example, when it came to friendships. A number of his international peers felt that some domestic students who worked in the U.S. national security field had real or perceived restrictions on interacting with foreign nationals outside of the classroom.

“But I loved being an international student at SSP,” Emiel adds, despite the obstacles that accompanied it. International students bring different perspectives into class discussions and once the imposter syndrome wore off, he became more confident in expressing his own views. He believes that having international students in these classes help domestic students as well, allowing them to see the issues from a non-U.S. angle. Emiel also recommends that students, both domestic and international, engage with the SSP Student Council to advocate for themselves as SSP students. Participating in Student Council activities offered him a chance to identify and work towards resolving issues that others might not have seen but find important, such as reducing to the minimum the credit hours and associated tuition costs of an internship tutorial, which international students are legally required to enroll in if they wish to pursue internships while on their student visa and enrolled in courses.

Finding employment in the field of security in the United States as a foreigner was its own obstacle as well. Emiel had to navigate around both his visa requirements, which constrained work opportunities to his field of study, and the relatively limited number of jobs available for people without citizenship and a security clearance. “You know about these challenges coming in, but it doesn’t mean that they don’t add an extra layer of stress,” he says.

To overcome challenges finding employment in the United States after graduation, Emiel advises international students to take advantage of networking opportunities at SSP. Knowing alumni who already work in organizations and industries that are open to foreign nationals can give students a strong start in finding a post-SSP career path. Going to international student information sessions and events hosted by the Graduate Career Center can also maximize an international student’s chances for employment.

Since his graduation from SSP in May 2020, Emiel continues to work at FireEye as an Associate Analyst, producing extensive cyber threat intelligence reporting for Mandiant customers and focusing his research and writing on threats emanating from the Middle East region. In particular, he spends most of his time tracking Iranian threat actors, uncovering both their surveillance activity and cyber espionage operations targeting public and private sector entities around the world.