The Foreign Service Journal, June 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2014 57 AFSA NEWS On April 7, AFSA President Robert J. Silverman shared perspectives on diplomatic careers with a class of Pickering and Rangel Fellows at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin. Many of the 20-plus students expressed keen interest in the Foreign Service and other international careers. The next day, he briefed an overflow crowd of Foreign Service retirees on AFSA pri- orities before delivering a talk on “Diplomatic Possibilities in the Middle East: Impacts on the Foreign Service.” In it, he declared that the United States has no choice but to stay engaged in the Middle East, despite setbacks and dangers to our Foreign Ser- vice personnel at all levels. Silverman acknowledged that the Egyptian political landscape is quite complex, but that makes it all the more vital for American diplomats to engage widely with many segments of the population, so we can understand and influence developments. A wide-ranging Q-and-A session followed. On April 17, Silverman briefed students at the School of General Studies at Columbia University in New York on Foreign Service careers and U.S. diplomacy. The school’s dean said the program went over extremely well, citing the enthusiastic questions from students. Both visits were part of AFSA’s ongoing outreach AFSA President Speaks in Austin and New York City to “opinion leader” groups around the country, which deepens public under- standing of diplomacy and development and keeps our members updated on AFSA programs and priorities. n –Tom Switzer, Speakers Bureau Director AFSA President Robert J. Silverman addresses the Texas Foreign Service Group at a luncheon in Austin on April 8. As we have done every year since 1992, AFSA is col- laborating with the Thursday Luncheon Group to support a minority college student dur- ing a 10-week internship at the Department of State. One of those students, Stacy Session, later joined the Foreign Service. Another intern, Stacy Williams, is the current president of TLG and a member of the Civil Service. This year’s TLG intern, the 24th AFSA has co-sponsored, ATFSGMEMBER New TLG Intern Comes to Washington Service officer. Following his upcoming internship on the India desk in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, he will participate in the fall 2014 education voy- age with the Semester at Sea program. AFSA is also inaugurating a collaboration with the His- panic Employees Council of the Foreign Affairs Agencies. Modeled on the TLG pro- gram, its goal is to support a deserving Hispanic-American college student during a summer internship at the State Department. We look forward to introducing the first HECFAA intern in next month’s issue. AFSA greatly values our strong relationship with TLG and HECFAA. Special thanks go to their respective leaders, Stacy Williams and Fran- cisco Palmieri, as well as the very supportive staff of the State Department’s Office of Recruitment, Evaluation and Employment within the Bureau of Human Resources. –Ásgeir Sigfússon, Director of New Media is Jayson Douglas, a Bal- timore native. A junior at Bethune-Cookman Univer- sity in Daytona Beach, Fla., Jayson is majoring in political science with a dual minor in international affairs and public administration. An active member of the honors college, he is also president of his school’s Student Gov- ernment Association. Jayson’s strong interest in human rights and conflict resolution has given him a calling to become a Foreign