The Foreign Service Journal, October 2016

AFSA NEWS CALENDAR THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2016 53 October 3 AFSA/Public Diplomacy Council: “Connecting the U.S. and Asia” October 5 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting October 6 2–4:30 p.m. Everything You Need to Know About the TSP October 9-14 AFSA Road Scholar Program Chautauqua, N.Y. October 10 Columbus Day: AFSA Offices Closed October 12 2-3:30 p.m. What Is the Purpose? 360 Feedback in the Foreign Service October 23-27 AFSA Road Scholar Program Washington, D.C. October 28 Job Search Program Graduation Reception at FSI November 2 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting November 6-10 AFSA Road Scholar Program Washington, D.C. November 7 AFSA/Public Diplomacy Council: “How China Is Covering the U.S. Election” November 11 Veterans Day: AFSA Offices Closed November 18 AFSA Scholarship Applications for 2017-18 Academic Year Available November 24-25 Thanksgiving: AFSA Offices Closed STATEDEPARTMENT/MICHAELGROSS AFSA essay contest winner Dylan Borne receives his certificates from Secretary of State John Kerry. During their meeting, Sec. Kerry spoke with the Borne family in French and accepted a gift from Dylan showcasing the culinary talents of his native New Orleans. High School Essay Contest Winner Visits Washington On Aug. 1, Secretary of State John F. Kerry presented Dylan Borne, a rising senior from Benjamin Franklin Charter High School in New Orleans, Louisiana, with the 2016 American Foreign Service Association National High School Essay Contest award. In AFSA’s 2016 essay con- test, students had to imagine themselves as members of the U.S. Foreign Service, and then find a peacebuilding solution to a particular conflict or crisis that threatens U.S. interests abroad. In the East Hall of the State Department, Secretary Kerry congratulated Dylan on his outstanding essay and spent some time questioning the student about the logistics of his solution for peace in Afghanistan. In his paper, Dylan put himself in the shoes of an eco- nomic officer in the USAID’s Office of Conflict Manage- ment and Mitigation. He argues that a program to dis- tribute laptops to civil society organizations and individuals in Afghanistan would give local women greater access to edu- cational resources, the ability to start and grow businesses to improve their economic stability and become agents of change in a country where they are often overlooked Each year, AFSA flies the contest winner and their par- ents toWashington, D.C., for discussions with foreign policy leaders fromAFSA, the United States Institute of Peace, the State Department and Capitol Hill. Dylan was accompanied by his parents, Dr. David Borne and Dr. Annette Sojic, and his sister, Sophie Borne. AFSA partners with the Semester at Sea study abroad program and USIP to sponsor the essay contest and support the significant prizes offered. In addition to the two-day trip toWashington, Dylan received $2,500 and a full-tuition-paid voyage with Semester at Sea on his enrollment at an accredited university. In addition, Dylan’s high school received 10 copies of AFSA’s introduction to the Foreign Service, Inside a U.S. Embassy: Diplomacy at Work (Foreign Service Books, 2011). Dylan was particularly excited about the chance to spend a college term travel- ing the world while studying. “An international education at Continued on page 58