At UMBC, Ahmed was able to pursue his interests in international relations, public policy, writing and cybersecurity.As an undergraduate, Ahmed served as Senior Staff Writer at The Retriever, Assistant Editor for the Baltimore Zeitgeist, blogger for US Democrazy, and Field Assistant for the NBC Presidential Inauguration Team in 2012. Ahmed also cultivated his interest in research on the Middle East. He worked with UMBC professor Dr. Brian Grodsky as a research assistant on a project studying Tunisia and Egypt’s path to the Arab Spring. Ahmed studied terrorism and responses to terrorism when he interned with START at the University of Maryland. Ahmed spent the summer of 2015 interning with US Senator Ben Cardin.
Immediately after graduating from UMBC, Ahmed began working at a cybersecurity startup. He became a Fellow at the Internet Law and Policy Foundry, a fellowship for early career law and policy innovators passionate about technology. Currently Ahmed is a Senior Intelligence Analyst at a cybersecurity company, and a part time law student at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, where he’s specializing in Cybersecurity and Crisis Management Law.
The most important part of the Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program for Ahmed was the community. Through the Sondheim Program, Ahmed was connected to students, staff, and alumni who guided him through internships and classes, and ultimately into law school. Ahmed values the conversations in residence halls, debates over current events, and bonding over service that connected him to his peers in the Sondheim Scholars community.
Ahmed with Senator Ben Cardin. He is currently a law student.