The Foreign Service Journal, June 2012

J U N E 2 0 1 2 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 33 source Management team the following year. He is the chairman of the consulate general’s FSN Committee. S MALL BUT M IGHTY By Priya Beegun, Port Louis Have you ever heard the African proverb, “A roaring lion kills no game”? In other words, you cannot achieve anything by sitting around talking about it; you must get up and work for it. Well, that insight is what brought me to the embassy of the United States of America in Port Louis, Mauri- tius, almost six years ago. After years as a reporter, fol- lowed by two transitory professional experiences as an academic and a training executive in an investment com- pany, I finally found what many would depict as the dream job. But wait! Did I say six years? This seems a remarkably long time, at least to me — until I consider that when I joined the public affairs section as a cultural affairs assis- tant, I stepped into the shoes of an amazing retiree with more than 25 years of experience. I was expected to walk around in them comfortably right away, but it took me a year or so to grasp the gist of my position and, above all, what it means to work for the U.S. Department of State. But from then on, everything gradually started to fall into place. Almost six years later, I look back with a big smile. I sailed through some rough waters, but I grew. I some- times learned the hard way, but I have become more knowledgeable. I moved from being a cultural affairs as- sistant to a cultural affairs specialist, taking on additional responsibilities and new challenges as the years went by. Along the way, I sent out plenty of SOS messages to un- known counterparts in Africa and Washington, D.C., ask- ing for help. Many of these people, formerly complete F OCUS