FEATURE: Political Science and Engineering Combine to Forge World of Opportunities for Medeiros

by: Tim Geer, Brown Athletic Communications

Attending an Ivy League school was always a goal for senior linebacker Jason Medeiros. A local product from Rehoboth, Mass., Medeiros has forged a path in three different sectors: history, political science and engineering, an unorthodox combination of disciplines that will impact his future far beyond the borders of Brown Stadium, the Brown campus and even the United States.

"It was always a dream of mine to attend an Ivy League school and be able to play football while doing so," Medeiros said. "Brown gave me a once in a lifetime chance that I just couldn't pass up. I really wanted to make the most of it."

A double-major concentrating in history and political science, Medeiros is on track to graduate this year and has aspirations of working in international relations and foreign policy. That desire gained traction this past summer when he served as a congressional foreign affairs intern for Brown alum and current U.S. Congressman David Cicilline, who represents the 1^st District of Rhode Island in the U.S. House of Representatives.

"Working as a congressional intern was an unbelievable opportunity," Medeiros said. "It was mostly remote, but for the last week I was down on Capitol Hill which was really cool to be able to have that experience."

While focusing on foreign policy and international relations, Medeiros discovered how another industry, engineering, could help him in politics. While it may seem like an unusual academic portfolio on the surface, the engineering world has helped him gain a highly valuable perspective in shaping politics and policy abroad.

Barrett Hazeltine is one of Brown's most influential and renowned voices in engineering management and technology planning, particularly in developing countries. Now holding the title of Professor Emeritus, Hazeltine continues to teach three courses at the University. Brown's on-campus football locker room is also named in his honor.

"Most of the guys have said if you come to Brown, you have to take a Professor Hazeltine course," Medeiros said. "I ended up taking all three of his courses and afterwards I was given the opportunity to be a teaching assistant for him. He's become a great mentor for me and I can't say enough about him and how he's helped me throughout my entire time here."

Medeiros has been a TA for Professor Hazeltine for two years now, and currently serves as the Head TA. He helps teach two courses, one in the fall and one in the spring semester, titled The Engineer's Burden (ENGN 0130) and Appropriate Technology (ENGN 0930).

"I think a lot of what the courses are about is really pertinent to making changes in the developing world," Medeiros said. "With The Engineer's Burden, it shows what engineers face when going into the world, and international and foreign policy is closely intertwined with that. Appropriate Technology is another very similar course in terms of going out and finding real issues. That's why I really like it because it's really pertinent especially for the students that may take so many other courses at the school. I think it's really important and making a difference in people's lives."

Learning about and how to identify different issues can play a key role in identifying ways to help craft policies and address political issues in developing countries and help them grow on the world stage.

With one year of athletic eligibility remaining, Medeiros' goal is to enroll in Brown's international public affairs master's program before entering the workforce. He credits Brown's open curriculum as a major piece in his ability to pursue all these different academic paths.

"Brown's open curriculum has definitely allowed me to concentrate in history and political science, take what courses I want to take and focus on areas that I really want to focus on," Medeiros said. "In addition, if I went to a different school, I doubt I would have gotten involved with the school of engineering."

Medeiros has also discovered success on the field as well, earning a starting spot for the Bears early on during his freshman season. He appeared in all 10 games in both his freshman and sophomore seasons, finishing with 46 tackles in 2018, good for sixth-best on the team, and 47 in 2019. Through three games this season, he has 15 tackles, including a team-high three tackles-for-a-loss and two sacks. He tallied two interceptions during the 2019 season, including a game-sealing pick at the goal line as time expired to clinch Brown's 35-30 win at Bryant in the season-opener.

"That was one of the coolest moments in my sports career," Medeiros said. "I wouldn't say it was the pinnacle, but moments in terms of just being able to help out the team in that way, and going back into the locker room and having everyone there waiting for me and going crazy when I walked in was awesome.

"It's been really cool and just my experience here overall, I've been working as hard as I can and I like to say, I'm probably not going to be the biggest or strongest person on the field, but no one's going to out-prepare me, and I've been advantageous throughout my career," he added.

Off the field, Medeiros has put an emphasis on getting involved in the local community, volunteering his time at elementary schools in Providence and hanging out with the kids at recess.

"I remember being one of those kids living right down the road and I came to a few Brown football games when I was a kid," Medeiros recalled. "So, I know how cool it is to help those guys out any way I can. To those kids, they sometimes look up to us and I try to lead by example. We play all sorts of games with them and try to make their lives better and make a solid impact any way I can. There are so many opportunities here at Brown with our Bench Press for Cancer and there's a walk for autism that we do, so there's many different opportunities to get involved in the local community."

Medeiros attended Noble & Greenough School just outside Boston for high school, and playing football at an Ivy League school was always a goal he strived for. Staying local and attending Brown made all the sense in the world to him.

"Being local, most of my family is from Rhode Island," Medeiros said. "The people here, the great environment and just having the opportunity to attend any Ivy League school would have been a dream, but at Brown it has really all come to fruition.

"It's one of the most prestigious schools in the country and there are so many intangibles I could go into at length that you can gather from the football field and that brotherhood that we have," Medeiros said. "That comradery and those lessons you learn you may not get from the academic experience, which teaches you so many things on its own. I really think all of that will help me going forward in whatever avenue that is."

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FEATURE: Political Science and Engineering Combine to Forge World of Opportunities for Medeiros

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