Ryan Prior, Cross-Platform Associate Producer, CNN, Atlanta

The RIAS fellowship was a life-changing opportunity to meet directly with many leaders in important positions running the free world, as well as the journalists who cover them in Politico, the Economist, and many others. In an increasingly globalized world, it’s vital that as many journalists as possible develop this kind of first-hand knowledge of the enduring institutions in liberal democracy. As democratic back-sliding occurs across Russia and Hungary as well as Germany and the US, it’s vital that the next generation of journalists can understand how inextricably all of our lives are woven. RIAS provides this in a way that no other professional program I’ve been involved with has done.

Without question, the meetings at the Bundestag, German Embassy, European Union, and NATO, as well as my budding friendships with each of the fellows, have inspired me to push harder as an internationally minded journalist. RIAS helped revitalize me and to understand the importance of the work I do each day at CNN. My RIAS experiences will be front of mind on a daily basis, influencing the way I write, produce, and think on both domestic and international stories for many years to come.