42 OCTOBER 2023 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Use Your Contacts. Do not be afraid to reach out to people in the Foreign Service who worked with you or your parents. They can be a big help, whether it be through offering career advice or pointing you toward a job opening they’ve heard about. For example, one senior-level public diplomacy officer who served in Moscow at the same time as my family was able to give me useful advice as I started GorStra, and even offered some ideas on where I can take it after I graduate. People you know are often happy to help—even if they remember you simply as the high school intern. Stay Balanced. It’s hard to balance your personal life, school life, and work life. Try to maintain a good balance so you don’t burn yourself out. Schedule important tasks so you don’t fall behind in school, at work, at the gym, or even at the grocery store. Experiment with what is too much, too little, and just right when you are managing everything you need and want to do. I have one year until graduation—it takes just three years to complete a bachelor’s degree in England. After graduation, I plan to continue leading GorStra while I apply for a position as a Foreign Service officer. I hope it grows to become an established, well-known organization in the coming years. In the meantime, my team and I have gained valuable, real-world experience for future careers while helping make a difference in the world. There is always more to learn and do, no matter where you land after life as a Foreign Service kid. n Our main goal is to help push information forward, drawing public attention to critical human rights issues they might otherwise not know about.
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