The Foreign Service Journal, November 2014

72 NOVEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS to encourage students to think critically about a topic of global significance and the role diplomacy plays in con- necting people and ideas. To commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Foreign Service, this year’s contest asked students to select a for- eign policy issue from the last 90 years where diplomacy played a significant role. Nitisha’s winning essay offered a thoughtful analysis of the Marshall Plan, includ- ing both its challenges and successes. It exhibited strong research and a clear under- standing of the role of the Foreign Service in diplomacy. It was selected frommore than 450 submissions from all 50 states. AFSA partners with the Semester at Sea study abroad program and the National Student Leadership Confer- ence to sponsor the contest. The high school student with the winning essay receives a remarkable assortment of prizes: a $2,500 award, an all- expenses-paid trip toWash- ington, D.C., from anywhere in the United States for the winner and his or her parents, and an all-expenses-paid educational voyage courtesy of Semester at Sea. The runner-up receives a full scholarship to attend the National Student Leadership Conference inWashington, D.C., and participate in their International Diplomacy pro- gram. This year’s runner-up, Angelia Miranda, from Kent, Wash., is a homeschooled junior who wrote about the Camp David Accords and the work of the Foreign Service in making them possible. While acknowl- edging the difficulty of evaluating these accords as a model for future nego- tiations, Angelia clearly described the diplomatic processes used that are applicable to this day. She chose the topic to learn about a subject on which she had lim- ited knowledge. Her goal is to join the Foreign Service. This summer, Angelia visited AFSA for the day and received her certificate. AFSA also arranged for her to meet staff in the offices of her congressional representatives and had a photo taken with Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Representa- tive Adam Smith (D-Wash.). Following her tour of the Hill, she visited the first floor of the State Department. The AFSA National High School Essay Contest is governed by an advisory committee chaired by retired FSO Eugene Schmiel. Essay judges include teachers, AFSA staff and active-duty and retired Foreign Service members. The contest is open next year’s contest or have further questions, please contact Special Awards and Outreach Coordinator Perri Green at green@afsa.org . n –Trevor Smith, FSJ Intern, and Debra Blome, Associate Editor Continued from page 71 Top, from left: AFSA Scholarship Committee Chair Ambassador Lange Schermenhorn, Awards and Outreach Coordinator Perri Green, Nitisha Baronia, AFSA President Robert Silverman, AFSA High School Essay Contest judge Janice Bay, Chief of Staff of the Institute for Shipboard Education and Semester at Sea Luke Jones. Bottom, left: Essay contest winner Nitisha Baronia receives her prizes from AFSA President Robert J. Silverman. Bottom, right: Essay contest runner-up Angelia Miranda visited Washington, D.C., this summer. AFSA/DEBRABLOME AFSA/DEBRABLOME AFSA/EVANBULMAN to high school students whose parents are not in the Foreign Service. Winning essays and the list of 2014’s 25 finalists, along with contest information, may be found at www.afsa.org/ essaycontest. If you are inter- ested in serving as a judge for