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When I reached out to Dr. Martinez for help with the statement of interest, I honestly did not expect for Dr. Martinez to then put me in touch with a senior foreign officer at the State Department. As these things tend to go, I waited until less than two weeks before...

After submitting my application, all I could do was wait. According to the instructions, the State Department would notify applicants if a bureau was interested in interviewing you by July 19th, which happened to be a Friday. Coincidentally, I had scheduled my flight...

On Monday, the weekend after my interview with the Central Europe Office, I had the interview with the Policy Office. The same day, the Policy Officer offered me a position at the office and gave me a liberal singular day to decide. Now, I was in quite a predicament....

Surprisingly, I, a Ukrainian immigrant who visits family in Ukraine frequently, received my security clearance before the two born and raised Americans in the cohort who also applied for internships at State. The security clearance process can be tough. A former...

One question that came up even during the interview was the question of availability. To show my interest in the internship, I told my interviewer that I was willing to work 40 hours per week. As far as I can tell, how your schedule turns out in the end is a...

Before the start of my internship, I wondered about the type of work I would do, and whether or not I would a) be really busy or b) have little to do My experience has oscillated between the two, but from my conversations with current and previous interns, the...

In the first few weeks, I worked on setting up consultations for post officers with bureau program officers. Let me explain. As a reminder, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) manages all State Department-funded exchange programs, which includes both...

My internship overlapped with a fall intern who had gotten a late start because his security clearance had been delayed. He did not get a chance to finish a project he was working on before he left, so I took over for him. Each year, the Secretary of State holds a...

As promised, I’ll finish up talking about the projects I worked on during my internship to give you a full picture of the type of tasks you might work on. If you remember that Bureau of Educational Cultural Affairs (ECA) Town Hall I participated in and the functional...

I have talked at length about the work I did during my internship, but have so far not mentioned much about the people I have worked with while interning. Let’s correct that. First, to get it out of the way, the only negative aspect. And one that I noticed right away....

So, what is the point of it all? Perhaps I should narrow that question just slightly. Coming back full circle, why did I choose State and what do I plan, keyword here is plan, on doing? Hopefully, this, along with the rest of the blog, will not just be an exercise in...

March 24, 2020 The gentle rumble of the freight train as it passes by my house does not evoke the same sense of reflection as my journey at the start of this adventure. However, in a world upturned by a crisis, the click-clack of the train cars as they whizz by...