The Foreign Service Journal, April 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2016 57 AFSA NEWS climate science, and even social work. The Foreign Service will need people who under- stand how to gather, use and deploy data in the service of problem-solving and stake- holder engagement. Mastery of social media and digital networking will become even more necessary. AFSA staff connected with students and teachers at the conference by hosting an exhibit table for the fourth year in a row to promote the association’s National High School Essay Contest—a joint partnership with the United States Institute of Peace, Semester at Sea and the National Student Leader- ship Conference. We also shared copies of The Foreign Service Journal ; promoted AFSA’s guide to the Foreign Service, Inside a U.S. Embassy ; and encour- aged students and teachers AFSA Editorial Assistant Shannon Mizzi speaks to NAIMUN participants about the association’s High School Essay Contest. AFSA/PERRIGREEN to invite a Foreign Service speaker from the associa- tion’s Speakers Bureau into their classrooms. Participant Kayla Stein- burg of New Hampshire is typical of the highly moti- vated and inspired students who participate in Model UN. In an email to AFSA following the conference, she could hardly contain her excite- ment about the Foreign Service: “I am interested in pursuing a career in the For- eign Service, because learn- ing about the international community and interacting with people from different cultures will help me better the world and myself.” AFSA continues to partner with organizations to reach young people across the country. n — Ásgeir Sigfússon, Director of Communications, and Perri Green, Awards Coordinator