Meet Cadet Olivia Raykhman, the CTC Cadet of the Month for October 2024. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Olivia is a Russian Language major with double minors in Terrorism Studies and Cyber Security at the United States Military Academy. Her inspiration to serve stems from her parents’ escape from life-threatening antisemitism in the Soviet Union and their subsequent success as immigrants in the U.S. Growing up in the insular immigrant community of “Little Odessa,” Olivia became the first woman from her community to attend West Point, defying the Russian cultural discouragement of female servicemembers. As a high school student, she founded a non-profit for immigrant college applicants. As a cadet, she founded the Cadet Ambassador Program, the official cadet-led arm of the Admissions Department and the first program of its kind at any service academy.
Surviving two terrorist attacks in high school shaped her focus on countering violence fueled by propaganda and her academic passion for terrorism studies. As a Terrorism Studies Minor and its Cadet-in-Charge, she has gained professional experience through internships with the J5 Plans and Policy Directorate in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the 780th Military Intelligence Brigade, the Principal Cyber Advisor for the Secretary of the Army, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Olivia’s research on information manipulation in the Western world and post-Soviet space has led to presentations at two graduate-level conferences and a publication in the Defense Studies journal.
At West Point, Olivia also leads the Jewish Chapel as its President, serves as the vice-chair of the Israel Leadership Network through Hillel International, and is a captain for the Cyber Policy Team and the cadet leader of the Combating Terrorism Center. She is also a Truman Scholarship finalist, a Senior Writing Fellow at the West Point Writing Center, and a Ski Patrol medic.
Upon graduation in May 2024, Olivia will commission as an Information Operations Officer in the United States Air Force. She hopes to combat disinformation campaigns, whether they aim to manipulate public opinion, incite violence, or undermine democratic institutions.
