The Foreign Service Journal, October 2013

48 OCTOBER 2013 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS AFSA arranged a meeting for Joshua with the staff of Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J. He was briefed by legislative correspondent Jenipher Camino-Gonzalez, who spoke about bridging foreign policy with local com- munities; Christopher Barr, Sen. Menendez’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee legislative assistant; and Meg Murphy, who took him on an exclusive tour of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Room. AFSA’s National High School Essay Contest is governed by an advisory committee and is chaired by retired U.S. diplomat Eugene Schmiel. Essay judges include teachers, AFSA staff and active-duty and retired Foreign Service members. inspire them to consider a career in the Foreign Ser- vice. This year’s essay topic required contestants to write about how they would improve U.S. relations with one of the following coun- tries: Burma, Greece, Kenya, Libya, Greece, India or Haiti. Ms. Pedersen’s winning essay is entitled, “Burmese Days: Democratization and the U.S.–Burma Relationship.” Kailee is looking for- ward to her Semester at Sea voyage, during which she hopes to travel to Asia. AFSA’s partnership with SAS (the shipboard program’s academic sponsor is the University of Virginia) and its generous prize of a fully- funded Semester at Sea, has elevated the association’s contest by raising the quality of the essays and attracting the brightest students from across the country. In 2012, the National Stu- dent Leadership Conference became a new sponsor of the High School Essay Contest by offering an award for the second-place entry. This year, Joshua Ferry, a rising senior at New Jersey’s Wall High School, was selected as the runner-up. His essay, “The United States and India: Beyond the Millennium,” won him a full scholarship to the National Student Leadership Conference’s international diplomacy program in Wash- ington, D.C. and New York City this past July. While in Washington, AFSA’s National High School Essay Contest Continued from page 43 This year, approximately 500 essays were submitted from 42 states and abroad. Winning essays and the list of 2013’s 25 finalists, along with contest information, may be found at www.afsa. org/essaycontest. If you are interested in serving as a judge for next year’s con- test or have further ques- tions, please contact Perri Green, special awards and outreach coordinator, at green@afsa.org. n Left: Secretary of State John Kerry with High School Essay Contest winner Kailee Pedersen and AFSA President Robert Silverman. Above: Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., meets with Kailee in his Nebraska office in August. Bottom: Joshua Ferry receives his High School Essay Contest runner-up certificate while attending the National Student Leadership Conference at American University in July. Left to right: Susan Lowitz, NSLC director of operations for D.C. programs; Joshua Ferry; Perri Green, AFSA coordinator for special awards and outreach; and Patty Hester, NSLC international diplomacy program director. PHOTOBYMICHAELGROSS,U.S.DEPARTMENTOFSTATE PHOTOBYJENNIFERLOWRY