From Colorado to Capitol Hill and Beyond
By Coby Sauce, MBA ’14
“I wouldn’t trade my time at Howard Payne for anything.”
Caleb Kostreva ’19 has a simple bit of advice for young people considering Howard Payne University to further their education.
“Go to Howard Payne,” he said, with a laugh. “Just go.” It was, after all, the same advice he took, and it has paid dividends in his life and career.
Originally from Clifton, Colorado, Kostreva visited HPU on the advice of a high school teacher. Coming from out of state, he wasn’t quite sure what to expect. He was pleased to discover HPU’s exceptional public policy program, the Guy D. Newman Honors Academy; a robust Study Abroad program; and an award-winning Model United Nations program.
“And I did all of those things,” he said.
In addition, he worked on campus, was a resident assistant and was active in the Baptist Student Ministry, Student Government Association and Alpha Psi Omega.
Perhaps most formative to his future profession were a Study Abroad trip to China his sophomore year and an internship during his senior year with the Christian human rights organization 21Wilberforce in the Washington, D.C.,area. 21Wilberforce is dedicated to defending people of faith internationally through collaborative partnerships, grassroots efforts and the enacting of public policy. This internship, in particular, set the stage for Kostreva’s career devoted to supporting the creation of policies and programs to benefit Americans and those around the world.
After graduating from HPU with honors, he interned with the Heritage Foundation, a think tank promoting conservative public policies, before working on Capitol Hill, most recently serving as a congressional legislative director.
Since 2024, he has worked at Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc., providing support for AUKUS, a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. According to the website for the U.S. Department of War, the AUKUS partnership “reflects the continued commitment by Australia, the United Kingdom, and United States to support a free and open Indo-Pacific that is peaceful, secure and stable.”
“I do policy work for the program, leveraging similar skills that I developed on the Hill,” Kostreva said, noting that HPU prepared him for the work he’s doing today. “I’ve had good experiences in my career thanks to my time at Howard Payne.”
He encourages prospective students to visit HPU and see the value in its small size.
“There are no detriments to going to a smaller school, and, I would argue many benefits,” he said. “I got to sit down with my advisors and professors for hours and talk about my life and career goals. The small class sizes and the personal connections are so important. The professors truly care about every single one of their students.”
Among others, he credits HPU faculty members Drs.Matthew ’03 and Jennifer ’02 McNiece, Dr. David Claborn and Dr. Millard Kimery for their leadership and support.
“If Howard Payne has the academic programs that you’re looking for, you should go,” he said. “I had an awesome experience there. I wouldn’t trade my time at Howard Payne for anything.”