CDT Javier Fernandez is originally from Maple Grove, Minnesota, but spent time living abroad, namely in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Vevey, Switzerland. He graduated high school in 2018 from Graded – The American School of Sao Paulo in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Currently a senior at the United States Military Academy, CDT Fernandez is majoring in Sociology, with a concentration in Political Sociology, and is enrolled in the Terrorism Studies minor. He is a senior cadet editor for the West Point Journal of Politics and Security, and the senior undergraduate research fellow for the New War Research Consortium, a network of military and civilian academics seeking to protect democracy from violent political extremism.
Since joining the Terrorism Studies minor, CDT Fernandez has had the opportunity to intern at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism in Washington, D.C. During his internship, CDT Fernandez was able to work with leading counterterrorism practitioners and senior action officers on various problem sets revolving around violent political extremism in Africa, North America, and Western Europe.
Upon graduation, CDT Fernandez hopes to attend graduate school, focusing on international security and terrorism studies. After graduate school, CDT Fernandez is looking forward to commissioning as a counterintelligence officer and working closely with the U.S. military’s cyber and special operations communities.
