The Foreign Service Journal, March 2017

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2017 47 affinity for Greek culture and similarity in religions, Karavites gained immediate acceptance there, fostering much closer and personal relationships in all of his interactions. His work in Ser- bia is an exceptional example of cooperation between the RSO and his or her host-nation counterparts. A Common Theme A common theme among all of these agents is their call to public service. For Hornik-Tran, the seeds of service were planted by the international organization workers who helped him in the refugee camps. He was deeply moved by their gen- erosity, commitment and dedication, and he promised himself that he, too, would someday serve others. DS afforded him the opportunity to fulfill that dream. “Working for DS has allowed me to have an awesome opportunity to travel around the world, meet interesting people and, last but not least, exchange my suc- cess story as a former refugee from Vietnam who achieved the American dream,” says Tran. May, who grew up living the FS life, explained that in her childhood, she was always surrounded by members of the Foreign Service. She considers many of them her extended fam- ily, and says they shaped her life, direction and career choice. May was drawn to join DS ranks, deciding to follow in her father’s footsteps to serve as a DS agent. May hopes one day to be assigned to Colombia, where she can fulfill her lifelong goal of adopting a child from the orphanage from which she was adopted. After joining the Marine Corps Reserves during his junior year of high school, Christopher Gu’s heartfelt dedication to the United States grew, as did his desire to serve. Fortuitously, his reserve unit included an active DS agent, Pat Moore, who told him about the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. In China, being Agents from all backgrounds have amazing stories to tell about their pathway to joining DS, but for immigrants, or children of immigrants, the stories are especially remarkable.