The Foreign Service Journal, June 2015

62 JUNE 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS AFSA President Reaches Out to Students As the voice of the Foreign Service, AFSA seeks to raise the profile of the Foreign Ser- vice and educate the public on the Foreign Service’s role in advancing the nation’s interests. Helping students at all levels understand the work of the diplomatic corps is essential to that task. This spring, AFSA Presi- dent Robert J. Silverman took to the road to speak to young people about the Foreign Service and the rewards of a career in public service. He met with stu- dents at Yale University on March 27, at Princeton University on April 8 and at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville on April 21. He also visited Duke University on Dec. 4. He explained how the For- eign Service promotes U.S. national interests and builds goodwill among our allies and potential partners, as well as our adversaries. There was strong interest among students in learning about the Foreign Service as a career and in understand- ing the Foreign Service exam. At Yale, for example, he met a young woman pursuing a postdoctoral program in pub- lic health. She is the daugh- ter of Nigerian immigrants to the United States and wants to join the Foreign Service to focus on medical problems in Africa. He followed up by put- ting several students in touch with State recruiters. As part of AFSA’s ongoing Speakers Bureau program (see p. 64) , Silverman also addressed several hundred high school students from across the country at the National Youth Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. Silverman enjoys the exchanges with students and finds their interest in public service inspiring. This kind of outreach is essential to AFSA’s mission of building a constituency in support of the Foreign Service on Capi- tol Hill and among the public at large. This view was reiterated recently by Special Repre- sentative Tom Perriello, a former Virginia congressman appointed by Secretary of State John Kerry to shep- herd the second Quadrennial AFSA President Robert J. Silverman speaks with university students in Tennessee. Robert J. Silverman hosts a roundtable discussion with Yale students. COURTESYOFMARYBETHBROWDER,THEUNIVERSITYOFTENNESSEEKNOXVILLE COURTESYOFJACKSON INSTITUTECAREERSERVICESSTAFF National Youth Leadership Forum participants listen to Robert J. Silverman speak on Foreign Service life. Diplomacy and Development Review. Perriello met with the AFSA Governing Board in February, and emphasized the importance of telling the Foreign Service’s story. “My nieces and nephews know what a soldier is. They think As the voice of the Foreign Service, AFSA seeks to raise the profile of the Foreign Service and educate the public on the Foreign Service’s role in advancing the nations’ interests. they know what a spy is. But they have no idea what you people do and why it’s valu- able,” he said. “I think there are a lot of great conversa- tions to have.” n —Debra Blome, Associate Editor COURTESYOFENVISION