The Foreign Service Journal, October 2022

AFSA NEWS 58 OCTOBER 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA Connects with Job Search/Transition Program On Aug. 8, AFSA President Eric Rubin and Retiree Vice President John Naland joined FSI’s Job Search/ Transition Program par- ticipants virtually to discuss what the association offers Foreign Service members as they transition into the next phase of their professional and personal lives. Naland reminded the class that a wealth of retire- ment-related resources can be found on the Retirement Services page of the AFSA website at https://afsa.org/ retirement-services. Philip Shull, a retired FSO with the Foreign Agricultural Service and a retiree repre- sentative on AFSA’s Govern- ing Board, highlighted the value of AFSA membership in retirement. “AFSA becomes like your GSO when you leave the Foreign Service,” Shull said. “It’s the place where you can go for assistance and to get questions answered. Your voice still matters, and you can be influential as you remain a part of this community that has been central to many decades of your life.” In his closing remarks, Ambassador Rubin high- lighted AFSA’s ongoing work to advocate for current and retired FSOs and reminded the class that they must take action to remain a member. Those approaching retire- ment should contact Mem- ber Services (member@afsa. org) to let AFSA know and to secure all the benefits of AFSA membership. The August 2022 JSTP class consisted of just over 150 participants: 92 percent from the State Department, 6 percent from USAID, and 2 percent from the Foreign Commercial Service. The majority of those enrolled hail from the For- eign Service, with 9 percent from the Civil Service. n ambassadors and AFSA Governing Board members, ready to answer questions about AFSA’s role in a For- eign Service career. The State Department class consists of 88 Foreign Service generalists and 105 specialists. It includes one Pickering Fellow, 22 Rangel Fellows, four former Con- sular Fellows, one Presiden- tial Management Fellow, and one former Navy Seabee. There are 104 class mem- bers with prior State Depart- ment experience, 47 who served in the U.S. Armed Forces, and attorneys, edu- cators, nurses, scientists, and small business owners. Education levels range from high school to post-gradu- ate degrees. Some class members served on Operation Warp Speed ensuring the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines. One is a professional cricket player, while another is a former professional Jai-Alai player. Many are musicians, and at least four have newborn babies at home. Class members speak the “big six” languages of the United Nations as well as Armenian, Bulgarian, Ger- man, Hindi, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Igbo, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Tagalog, Thai, Turk- ish, Urdu, and Vietnamese. AFSA is continuing to welcome incoming classes both virtually and at in- person lunches in Washing- ton, D.C. n New Foreign Service Hires Continued from page 53 AFSA becomes like your GSO when you leave the Foreign Service. It’s the place where you can go for assistance. —Retired FSO Philip Shull HANNAHCHAPMAN/AFSA AFSA State VP TomYazdgerdi addresses the FS Orientation 165-211 class on July 21.