The Foreign Service Journal, December 2019

88 DECEMBER 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT I nternships are great for professional experience: they build the student’s résumé, and they guide the student in determining a job path and/or graduate degree program. But for students inter- ested in working in foreign affairs, there’s one big problem: most available intern- ships are in the Washington, D.C., area. And for many geographically challenged students, it simply isn’t possible to move here for an unpaid temp job. That’s where VSFS comes in. Launched in 2009 in the Department of State as the Virtual Student Foreign Service program, it allows students to work remotely for a federal agency. In 2017 VSFS changed its name to “Virtual Student Federal Service,” to reflect the fact that there are now more than 70 participating organizations, more than 40 of which are federal agencies, including USDA, VA, DHS, DOS, OPM and HHS. The State Department has led the effort to get American college students from around the world involved in our foreign policy process through this e-internship program. While VSFS interns are unpaid, students benefit by gaining professional experience and marketable skills, increased knowledge about a particular agency, networking contacts and a line item on their résumé showing they have interned for a federal agency or internationally recognized organization. Entrepreneur Ahva Sadeghi com- pleted two VSFS internships while an undergrad at University of Arizona Hon- ors College. She first interned with the Office to Combat and Monitor Trafficking in Persons, for which she conducted research to contribute to the 2014 Trafficking In Persons Report. The following year she interned with the Bureau of Democ- racy, Human Rights and Labor, contribut- ing to the 2014 Human Rights Reports for various countries in the Middle East. In both internships, Ms. Sadeghi conducted research, completed media analysis and drafted briefing papers and memos—all from her dorm in Arizona. In addition to gaining professional experience, Ms. Sadeghi received college credit for her internship. VSFS’s virtual nature prepared her for the gig economy and working remotely. And VSFS opened doors: she was the summer 2014 legal intern for AFSA at State, allowing her to meet with her VSFS contacts and build her professional network. She also authored one of the most popular articles on AFSA’s website, “How to Intern at State from Home.” She cred its her internships with helping her get into the London School of Economics. Ms. Sadeghi is now co-founder & CEO of Symba, an all-female tech startup helping to expand virtual internships in order to create opportunities for students of all economic backgrounds to land internships and improve their future job prospects. She was named a Global Entrepreneur Scholar by the U.S. Depart- ment of State. Her human rights fellow- ship with civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.) is what inspired her to change career tracks from interna- tional relations to entrepreneurship. Ms. Sadeghi has come full circle: her startup is currently collaborating with VSFS via Symba’s beta test, resulting in a streamlined internship process and a higher-quality platform to benefit the overall VSFS experience. n VSFS: THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S E-INTERNSHIP PROGRAM AND OPPORTUNITY EQUALIZER