This winter quarter, 86 undergraduates completed the Jackson School’s Donald C. Hellmann Task Force Program, a capstone course that involved several weeks of research, writing, and group collaboration on a current global issue. The program concludes with a student-led evaluation day, where each Task Force presents their final report to an subject field expert.
Name: Lilian Chung
Expected to graduate in: Spring 2026
Degree: B.A. in International Studies with minors in business and Chinese
Task Force title: Averting War: Taiwan and U.S.-China Relations
Task Force instructor: James Lin
Hometown: Redmond, Washington
What has been your favorite Task Force experience? Did anything surprise you from when you first heard of the Task Force program versus the on-the-ground experience?
I’ve greatly enjoyed getting to know the other members of my capstone group throughout the process of this project. This group brought a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives to the table, each contributing to how we worked together and what we created. I experienced colleagues becoming friends over the last 10 weeks, particularly with the members of my subgroup. I was definitely surprised at how fast-paced this project was. Going into it, I figured some weeks would be busier than others, which definitely held. However, I didn’t expect the persistent “go, go, go” energy throughout these 10 weeks. Just when you think you’ve been kicked into full gear, another (several) task(s) get handed to you. Rising to that challenge was intense, but one of the most rewarding parts of my time at UW.
What key skills do you think the Task Force program gives you?
The Task Force program definitely gave me a taste of a professional, fast-paced environment. It taught me how to communicate and work across teams to make our final product cohesive. Additionally, it gave me a new respect for the writing process, especially under strict time constraints.
What impressed you about Task Force Evaluation Day? What part of the presentation did you find most rewarding?
I was impressed by how official and professional the environment was. Outside of the fact that we were all dressed like corporate employees, the organization and precision that went into the event were very impressive.
The most rewarding part of the presentation was the exciting but scary opportunity to go to the podium to share and defend our research. I was one of the primary presenters for my Task Force section, and with that came a lot of nerves. During the couple of weeks that we rehearsed, I juggled feedback regarding my pronunciation, pacing, eye contact, etc. As an already relatively quiet and introverted person, preparing to present my subgroup’s research (in front of an expert in the field, no less) was almost more difficult than writing the actual policy report. However, after several run-throughs (some during class, many in front of my bathroom mirror), every comment and correction I’d received during the weeks prior seemed to come together during evaluation day. I don’t know how to describe it other than everything just seemed to click. It wasn’t perfect, but I felt better about my presentation on evaluation day than anything I’d done in our classroom.
