The Foreign Service Journal, December 2012

56 DECEMBER 2012 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS AFSA Governing Board Adds Two Members At its Nov. 6 meeting, the AFSA Governing Board approved the appointment of two new members to fill the remaining terms ending in July 2013 of two departing members. Andrew Levin and Jason Singer replace USAID GB Reps Michael Henning and Iris Young. Mr. Henning served on the board for 6 years, while Ms. Young returned to her obligations at work. We thank them for their service. Andrew and Jason bring years of USAID and For- eign Service experience to the table. We welcome them to the team! NEWS BRIEF On Nov. 29, the fifteenth annual AFSA National High School Essay Contest got underway with the unveiling of this year’s topic on AFSA’s Web site. This year, students are being asked to assume the role of a U.S. ambassador to one of six countries— Haiti, Greece*, Libya, India*, Kenya or Burma*. Using the resources available to an ambassador at post, they must address the current major foreign policy issues between their chosen nation and the United States. The essay contest is one of AFSA’s premier outreach programs, which attracts hundreds of submissions from all over the world and reaches the eyes of thou- sands of teachers and high school students. This is AFSA’s High School Essay Contest Enters Fifteenth Year BY PERRI GREEN, AWARDS AND OUTREACH COORDINATOR borne out by the fact that the essay contest page on the AFSAWeb site is consistently in the top three for page views each year. It is a tre- On Nov. 20, U.S. Ambassador to Brazil, Thomas Shannon, Jr., boarded Semester at Sea’s MV Explorer to address the relationship between the U.S. and Brazil during a Global Studies program in the floating campus’s student union. Amb. Shannon and members of his staff spent two days on board lecturing students as the ship sailed to Manaus. mendous opportunity to edu- cate America’s youth about the importance of the work carried out by our diplomats and development profession- als around the world. We are grateful to our partner, the Institute for Shipboard Education’s Semester at Sea program for supporting this impor- tant contest by providing a fully-funded, educational semester to the winning student once they enroll in an accredited college. The first place winner will also receive $2,500 and will travel with their family to Washington, D.C. to meet with the Secre- tary of State. For more on the Semester at Sea program, please visit www.semesteratsea.org. Fo r contest details, please visit www.afsa.org/essaycontest or contact Perri Green at green@afsa.org or (202) 719-9700. The submission deadline is April 15, 2013. n AFSA Scholarship Applications Are Now Being Accepted Applications for AFSA scholarships—Academic and Art Merit Awards for high school seniors (top prizes are $2,000), and need-based Financial Aid Scholar- ships for undergraduate college study (aid ranges from $1,000 to $4,000)—are now being accepted. Children of AFSA and AAFSWmembers are eligible (please note that grandchildren of Foreign Service employees are ineligible). For more informa- tion, please visit www.afsa.org/scholar or contact Lori Dec at (202) 944-5504 or dec@afsa.org.   NEWS BRIEF PHOTOBYPATRICKCAVANBROWN/ INSTITUTEFORSHIPBOARDEDUCATION *A few of Semester at Sea’s destinations.