- UF launches its first National Security Club.
- Students gain hands-on experience and career connections.
- A statewide summit is planned for Spring 2027 at UF.
With one eye on safety and the other on diverse careers, the University of Florida’s first student National Security Club, or NSC, launched earlier this year with big plans and a thirst for growth.
“At our core, we believe that national security is foundational to society, and it’s interconnected to a lot of different disciplines and different fields,” said Paige Anderson, a master’s student in nuclear engineering who serves as NSC co-president with Joseph Starr. “There are a lot of opportunities within national security that are broad, whether that’s in biotech, policy, business and so on.”
She envisions NSC as a hub for all things national security on campus, from workforce development to education to hands-on national security projects. With speakers, events and workshops, NSC plans to bring students closer to professionals in the field to learn about trends and the many — and varied — career options national security offers these days.
The club is open to all UF students; membership covers many majors, meaning the club is powered by many disciplines.
About 50 students attended the club’s launch event, with about 25 attending events regularly, Anderson said. But, with events on the horizon and national security in the news, the club expects membership to grow this semester.
The club’s relevance is timely, particularly in Florida.
“Florida is central to the national security mission, with three combatant commands, several major defense contractors, a booming space coast and a fast-growing defense-tech and venture scene in South Florida,” Anderson said.
On campus, NSC gives students a structured, hands‑on means to engage with real national security challenges, noted Professor Damon Woodard, Ph.D., the director of UF’s Florida Institute for National Security, known as FINS.
“This includes workshops, speaker events, discussion panels and competitive exercises,” he said. “By building a multidisciplinary community and connecting students with professionals across intelligence, defense and policy, the club strengthens campus engagement and prepares students to contribute meaningfully beyond UF.”
The club’s most vital role, Woodard said, is providing UF students an organized forum to learn about national security, build knowledge and prepare to engage confidently in the field.
“Students are facing national security questions more often in their classes and in current events, and many want a place to make sense of them,” Woodard said. “The club meets that need by giving students an environment where they can learn, ask informed questions and build confidence engaging with these issues.”
Activities include a crisis-simulation workshop, a one-day competition that has student teams responding to a simulated cyberattack on the energy grid. Each student takes a role — executive, cyber, policy/legal and communications, for example. They must adapt as the crisis escalates. They also must defend their decisions in mock press briefings, Anderson said.
“Some of the events we’ve hosted include a panel on the Iran conflict, two government/industry/academia panels and a collaborative Cyber-Informed Engineering workshop,” she said, noting the club has partnered with the Engineering Innovation Institute to help with event funding.
But the big event on the horizon is the first Spring 2027 National Security Summit, hosted this year at UF on March 26-27.
“The summit will bring students, researchers, military and government leaders, policymakers, companies and investors from across Florida into one room to exchange perspectives, identify shared priorities and build relationships across sectors,” Anderson said.
They plan to make the summit a statewide event hosted each year by a different university.
“In 10 years,” Anderson said, “we hope NSC will outlast its founders and early members with a strong alumni network, clear pathways into national security careers and create a summit that brings universities, government, industry, the military and students from across Florida together every year. Ultimately, we want every student who comes to UF to know about NSC.”
To learn more about NSC, including how to get involved, go to www.ufnsc.org.