The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2023

54 JULY-AUGUST 2023 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL I empathize with and relate to refugees and USAID’s beneficiaries because I have been in their shoes. After graduating, I joined the private sector as a civil engineer. I worked on billion-dollar construction projects in Southern California but never felt I was using my skills to make a difference. Working to reduce someone’s commute through Santa Monica by 15 minutes doesn’t compare to working to end extreme poverty while furthering America’s interests abroad. By then, I had my U.S. citizenship and all other require- ments to qualify for a federal government job. Volunteering in Tijuana gave me enough overseas experience to eventually qualify for an interview for a Foreign Service officer position with USAID. I got an offer—no doubt, America is the land of opportunity. Today, after 12 years and five Foreign Service tours, I have worked in 17 countries. I count my blessings because many undocumented friends never got an opportu- nity to pursue an education and dreams. I am better off for the struggles I went through. I think my life experiences make me a better development professional. I had slept on the floor, been homeless, used subpar health facilities, and been separated from my family as a kid. I empathize with and relate to refugees and USAID’s benefi- ciaries because I have been in their shoes. It speaks eloquently about the power of the American Dream that someone that the government deported, a descendant of someone that the government expelled in the mass deportations of the 1930s, could be entrusted by the same government to dispense international aid and conduct diplomacy on its behalf. n