Stephen is currently a MA candidate at Virginia Tech's School of Public and International Affairs and a former Junior Fellow with the Hungary Foundation and MCC's Budapest Fellowship Program.

Previously, he obtained a MA in International Conflict and Security Studies from the University of Kent-Brussels School of International Studies and a BA in History from Freed-Hardeman University. Through his studies and work in D.C. and Brussels, Stephen has focused much of his academic research on transatlantic relations and Central Europe, having written his first Master's thesis on the effects of memory politics on Hungarian foreign affairs.

During his time with the Budapest Fellowship Program, he was hosted by the Nemzeti Emlékezet Bizottsága and conducted research on Hungary's communist period.