The Foreign Service Journal, October 2012

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2012 57 WOMEN IN SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT FOCUS AFSA NEWS On July 26, at the Depart- ment of State, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton presented the first-place cer- tificate to Natasha Madorsky of Cleveland, Ohio, this year’s winner of the American Foreign Service Association National High School Essay Contest. Earlier in the day, Ms. Madorsky, a rising 12th- grader from Cleveland Heights High School, was invited to join Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, at a morning coffee held at the U.S. Senate Visitor Center in Washington, D.C. The AFSA contest was first held in 1999, for the pur- pose of stimulating interest among high school students in diplomacy. Contestants must select an essay topic from a list of current U.S. international relations issues occurring in specific coun- tries. Natasha’s winning essay focused on the crisis in South Sudan. “AFSA is very proud to have sponsored this impor- tant contest over the years, which has attracted thou- sands of students country- wide to write thoughtfully on critical foreign policy issues and to consider entering the U.S. Foreign Service or other international careers,” commented AFSA President Susan R. Johnson. Natasha received an award of $2,500 and a trip to Washington, D.C. (accom- panied by her parents, Dr. Elizabeth Stern and Michael Madorsky, and her English teacher and mentor, Mar- garet Hull) for a meeting with Secretary Clinton. Our contest sponsors were rep- resented by Robert Waters, vice president of academic affairs at the Institute for Shipboard Education, and AFSA Celebrates High School Essay Contest Winner BY DONNA AYERST, AFSA NEWS EDITOR Mona El-Banna of Booz Allen Hamilton. Once accepted to an accredited university, she will also receive an all-expense- paid educational voyage with ISE’s Semester at Sea program. Her high school will receive 10 copies of AFSA’s book, Inside a U.S. Embassy . This year, some 500 essays were submitted from (Top) Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton presents first-place certificate to Natasha Madorsky. (Bottom, Left to Right) Elizabeth Stern, Robert Waters, Natasha Madorsky, Michael Madorsky, Sec. Clinton and Margaret Hull chat after the presentation. PHOTOSBYDONNAAYERST CALENDAR 10/3/2012 12:00 - 2:00 PM AFSA Governing Board Meeting 10/8/2012 Columbus Day: AFSA Offices Closed 10/11/2012 4:00 - 6:00 PM FSJ Redesign Launch Reception 10/14/2012 – 10/18/2012 AFSA Road Scholar Program 10/17/2012 12:00 - 2:00 PM Luncheon: 169th A-100 Class 10/19/2012 12:00 - 2:00 PM Luncheon: USAID DLI-24 Class 10/22/2012 2:00 - 3:30 PM AFSA Book Notes: “America’s Other Army” Continued on page 59 THE OFFICIAL R CORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION In Remembrance