Jake Patrick Collins

Jake Patrick Collins '16 is President of the Saint John’s University Washington, D.C. Alumni Chapter.  He graduated from SJU in 2016, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Hispanic Studies. While at Saint John’s, Jake Patrick played soccer, worked at the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy & Civic Engagement, volunteered at Aprendemos Juntos as a bilingual tutor, and studied abroad in Segovia, Spain.  He was a Brandl Scholar and a proud alum of the Political Science Department's Washington, D.C. Summer Study Internship Program.

Jake Patrick came to Washington, D.C. immediately after graduation. He resides in the Adams Morgan/U Street neighborhood and enjoys exploring the city's best speakeasy bars, eating his way through all the menus the District has to offer in search of the best ribeye, playing in a competitive soccer league, riding his motorcycle on the weekends through the mansion-filled country roads of Northern Virginia, and singing on Sundays in the nationally-recognized Holy Comforter St. Cyprian Parish gospel choir. 

Professionally, Jake Patrick holds experience supporting global and national security operations in the private sector and U.S. government, particularly in the Western Hemisphere.  Currently, Jake Patrick serves as a Caribbean Program Advisor (INL/WHP) in the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau at the U.S. Department of State.  Simultaneously, he is pursuing his Master of Arts in Latin American Studies at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service where he is specializing in the United States' strategic competition with the PRC in the Caribbean.

Prior to his current posting, Jake Patrick helped elect Command Sergeant Major Tim Walz to the Minnesota Governor's Mansion in 2018 and also worked as a policy and operations aide for retired diplomat U.S. Ambassador Frances Cook at her D.C.-based international consulting firm The Ballard Group LLC which specialized in Middle East and African security, defense, and technology affairs.

He is a former Obama/Biden White House intern (OVP) and Obama Administration State Department intern (WHA/MEX). He is an active member of the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP) organization and is passionate about promoting LGBTQI+ diversity in national security and foreign affairs.