The Foreign Service Journal, October 2011

OC T OB E R 2 0 1 1 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 65 talk. So many students wanted to know about theForeignService andhowtoenter. Women wanted to know how I balanced mycareerwithmyFShusband’s career, and howwe both balanced being parents. We endedupcontinuing the conversation that evening, and again the nextmorning,” she exclaimed. Kelly ended her conversation withthe studentsby telling them, “I amhere as a direct result ofmy voyage onSemester at Sea! What are yougoing todowith your voyage?” Kelly, who served on the Foreign Service Journal Editorial Board for thepast year, was one of two Foreign Service offi- cers to receive an Una Chapman Cox Sabbatical Fellowship in 2010–2011. She spent her year building ties between the Department of State and the Institute for Shipboard Education. To read more about her year, please see theOctober 2011 issueof State magazineat www.state.gov/m/ dghr/statemag/index.htm. International Teacher As the daughter of Ambassador Niels Marquardt and Judi Marquardt, Kelsey Marquardt had traveled widely. She had been at home in France, Ger- many, Thailand and Cameroon (where she completedhersenioryear of high school). While a freshman at theUniversityof Tampa, Kelsey went to a study abroad fair. She pon- dered the choices of countries and the advan- tages anddisadvantages of each, but felt just one country wouldn’t do. “Once youknewabout Semester at Sea, it seemed impossiblenot todo it,” she says. “I was really attracted to the number of countries you could visit in one semester. Iwanted to seeLatinAmerica, so Iwas par- ticularly intriguedby the number of coun- tries you could visit in one region.” Kelsey set sail in the spring of 2008, her junior year in college. “There is so much negativity in thenews. Youconstantly read how this or that group of people don’t like or get along with the other group of peo- ple. But when you visit a foreign country andspendsome time talking topeople, you find that people arewelcomingeverywhere. A lot of people fromdifferent cultureswere interested inme because I amAmerican,” Kelsey concludes. HerexperienceasaForeignServicechild allowed her to gain a sense of place of the countries she lived in. “Onthe ship, youget a snapshot of a place — just a taste of the culture. But it inspires youtowant toknow more. I think that’s why somany students goonthe shipagainand look tocareers that will take themoverseas,” she says. “Before the ship, all ofmy travelingwas donewithmy parents. When I first got on the ship, being alonewas a bit scary; but by thetimewegottoAsia,Iwasapro. Mypar- entsdidmanagetovisitmewhenwedocked inMauritius,” she laughed. Kelsey recently began teaching world geography and language arts to 7th-grade English-speaking students at the Escuela InternacionalSampedranainSanPedroSula, Honduras. “The kids really want to know all about theU.S.,” she exclaims. “They are constantly asking me questions about pop culture. TheU.S.ishappeningtothem,too, so they can see how we are connected. Globalization even affects 7th- graders in Honduras!” Peace Corps Volunteer Kara Zucker became acquainted with Semester at Sea when she entered the UniversityofColoradoatBoulder. Theuni- versity was the program’s academic spon- sor from1977 to 1981, and SAS continues to attract a large number of students from Boulder. “Friends ofmine had gone on the ship. I really wanted to study abroad, but want- ed to go everywhere,” Kara recalled. “The main attraction for me was the chance to meet people fromall over theworldand to seehowthey live. Secondly, I loved the idea of living on the ocean. So, in spring 2009, when I was a junior, I was lucky enough to go on Semester at Sea.” “I have always tried to approach every- thing I do with a good attitude, a smile on my face and—even though theremay be obstacles—hopefully, I will end upmak- ing a difference,”Kara explains. “OnSAS, I became a sponge for everything!” Kara’s semester on the ship inspired her to have an openmind about different cultures, be flexible andbemore thoughtful, bothmen- tally and physically. After graduatingwith a degree inpolit- ical science, Kara entered the job market without knowing what she really wanted to do. “I applied for a lot of jobs, but kept thinking about the Peace Corps,” she says. A F S A N E W S Kelsey Marquardt teaches world geography in Honduras. Kara Zucker (left) making papusas with fellow Peace Corps Volunteer Shawna Jones. Kelly Adams-Smith (center) meets with Bulgarian students, spring 2009. Continued on page 66 ISE/SAS LISA VOLKE