The Foreign Service Journal, November 2014

On Sept. 29, Nitisha Baronia, this year’s winner of AFSA’s High School Essay Contest, and her parents, Vivek Baro- nia and Kavita Gupta, and brother, Ruchir Baronia, spent a day inWashington, D.C., with AFSA. The day started with a morning meeting with Sec- retary of State John Kerry, where he presented Nitisha with the essay contest’s first- place certificate. Nitisha, a 2014 graduate of Dougherty Valley High School, in San Ramon, Calif., is currently a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley. Nitisha wrote her winning essay on the Marshall Plan and its ramifications for both the Foreign Service and U.S. diplomacy as a whole. Secretary Kerry stepped out of his office to chat with Nitisha and her family before the official presentation. “Meeting Secretary Kerry was something I had been prepar- ing for,” Nitisha says. “How- ever, when he walked into the room, all of my expectations were blown away.” She adds: “He burst into the room with a presence that was larger than life, and I was left speechless when I heard that he had taken the time to read my essay. And he discussed his love for guitar playing with my little brother as if they were old friends.” After meeting the Secre- tary, Nitisha and her family crossed the street to AFSA headquarters, where they were treated to a breakfast and where Nitisha received the remaining prizes. President Robert J. Silver- man presented Nitisha with a check for $2,500. Luke Jones, the chief of staff at the Institute for Shipboard Educa- tion, awarded her a full-tuition scholarship for a Semester at Sea voyage. Nitisha and her family then headed out to see the city. “TouringWashington, D.C., was a really great experience,” Nitisha says. “I was surprised to find that the quotation I had begun my essay with was engraved on a wall at the [Franklin Delano] Roosevelt Monument, which really struck a chord with me.” Nitisha also visited Capitol Hill, where she met with staff of her hometown congress- man, Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) Nitisha had worked in Rep. Swalwell’s California office while she was in high school. AFSA established the High School Essay Contest in 1999 AFSA NEWS CALENDAR THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION AFSA High School Essay Contest Winner Meets Secretary Kerry Continued on page 72 THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2014 71 U.S.DEPARTMENTOFSTATE/MICHAEL G ROSS Above, from left: AFSA FSJ intern Trevor Smith, Vivek Baronia, Ruchir Baronia, Secretary of State John Kerry, Nitisha Baronia, Kavita Gupta and Semester at Sea representative Luke Jones. Right: Secretary Kerry greets AFSA’s High School Essay Contest winner and her family. November 5 12-2 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting November 6 AFSA Merit Award and Financial Aid Applications Available November 11 Veterans Day AFSA Offices Closed November 13 1-4 p.m. AFSA Book Market November 15 17th Annual AFSA National High School Essay Contest Begins November 27 and 28 Thanksgiving AFSA Offices Closed December 3 12-2 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting Early December TBD Holiday Happy Hour for AFSA Members December 24 Christmas Day AFSA Offices Closed U.S.DEPARTMENTOFSTATE/MICHAEL GROSS