The Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative has given me an invaluable window into public service and offered me an excellent opportunity to see what a career in federal government has to offer. I have been able to see firsthand US diplomacy and foreign policy in action and I have been given the opportunity to work side by side with the best the US government has to offer. I have been challenged and greatly rewarded as a Scholar and the experiences SINSI offers are unparalleled.

One of SINSI's most valuable aspects is its flexibility. Through SINSI, I was able to move between USDA and USAID, working on agriculture and food security issues for both agencies. Unlike perhaps any other fellowship program, SINSI's flexibility gave me to opportunity to determine the path that most supported my career goals. I spent the first year of my fellowship in Rome working with the Agricultural Attache' and the US Government's Mission to the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization. My second year was with USAID in Bosnia working for a local agricultural development project. This sequence introduced me to an incredibly wide spectrum of food security issues. I am sure that my experience with SINSI will be invaluable as I pursue a future career in public service.

It can be difficult to break into federal agencies because many require at least a master’s degree. Through SINSI, I’ve had unparalleled opportunity to start my career with USAID. With SINSI’s flexibility, I've had the opportunity to work directly with USAID contractors on project implementation and at the USAID Mission in Lima Peru, where I have been fully integrated into policy planning, implementation and reporting. From working with project beneficiaries in the field to staff support to the US Ambassador, I've had a chance to learn about the technical, political and administrative operations  at USAID and evaluate whether it is the right career for me. When I explain my job to my colleagues at USAID, many are a little envious and wish they had had similar opportunities early in their career. Their positive reactions about SINSI and the types of positions it makes accessible to students underscores my incredible fortune as a Scholar to work with and learn from experienced career foreign service officers while taking real responsibility for the day-to-day implementation of USAID programs.

As an Astrophysics major there weren't many obvious connections between the world of science and that of policy. I have always had a keen interest in mediating science for the greater good of society but had not found a way to do so until I came across SINSI. This amazing program has allowed me to see the nexus of science and policy through first hand experience as an intern at NASA and, beginning next year, my two-year fellowship in the federal government. By providing essential support and unparalleled  opportunities, SINSI has helped me build a solid foundation for my goals in the nation's service.

Through SINSI I have been given opportunities I thought would only come much later in my career. At my summer internship at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, I am helping to shape the agency’s policies on addressing climate change through economic development. Months after entering the SINSI program, I am already embarking on the career I seek.

Without SINSI, I would not have had the opportunity to learn first-hand about public section human services careers.  I wanted to find a way to apply my skills as an English major and my research on the representation of trauma and violence in literature to the real world. SINSI allowed me to intern for the summer in the Family Violence Division of the Department of Health and Human Services. I was able to use my research in violence and trauma as well as my analytic skills as an English major to understand the field of domestic violence from a policy stand-point. Throughout my internship, my supervisors and other program specialists in the Family Violence Division mentored me in the field of human services policy and will serve as valuable contacts for my future career in public service.

The SINSI program offered me the opportunity to work on the most high profile foreign policy issues right after college and provided me with invaluable work experience to apply to my graduate degree program. As an Iran Desk Officer at the State Department, I had an unprecedented window into policy formulation from the ground up during the Presidential transition and the Obama Administration’s Iran policy review. With SINSI’s help and support I found myself in a position in which my work directly contributed to the highest levels of foreign policy decision-making on one of the most pressing and dynamic international issues. My experience in the field – reporting on Iran’s post-election crisis from Dubai – offered an unparalleled opportunity to witness how reporting overseas contributes to policymaking in Washington and provided an invaluable preview to work as a Foreign Service Officer. These experiences and placements, which most career diplomats would jump to have a chance at, would never have been available to a recent college graduate without SINSI.

The idea of public service and affecting US foreign policy was always attractive to me, but I often found it difficult to identify attractive opportunities – positions that would fully utilize and expand my skills and interests in East Asian affairs. SINSI placed me in one of the most dynamic offices in the Department of Defense, working on security policy as a desk officer on China. Despite being a summer intern, I directly contributed to the highest levels of US-China  defense dialogue and regularly worked with top-level US and Chinese military leaders and policy officials. As a fellow, I have returned to the same office, contributing to work on both China and Korea policy issues. Because of the SINSI program's unparalleled guidance and resources, I've found a position that not only exercises my skills and interests but significantly affects  the United States' relations with East Asia.

One aspect of SINSI that most drew me to program initially is the way it combines formal education in policy issues and directly applicable, hands-on experience through the internship and the fellowship. My internship at the Department of State was a phenomenal learning experience in which I worked on a wide array of issues relating to Sudan such as child soldiers, U.S. diplomatic expansion in South Sudan, and interagency planning and cooperation. I also worked directly with Sudanese diplomats on consular issues. SINSI has provided wonderful mentorship opportunities and personal access to some of today's most experienced and impressive leaders in a variety of fields. The SINSI community itself is an incredible group of people with diverse interests who all share an underlying passion for public service.  Because of the tools and resources that SINSI provides, I am already laying a foundation to pursue a career that I am excited and passionate about.

My internship through SINSI helped me to learn about the key aspects of writing for senior policymakers; how and when to ask questions and make proactive suggestions; and the importance of considerate and dedicated diplomacy at the level of the action officer, consultation with civil society groups and the private sector, and dedicating time to long-term planning despite inexhaustible lists of short-term tasks. These are not flashy skills, but it is the methodical thinking, open consultation, and clear and cogent communication that ultimately produce the most comprehensive, actionable and just policies. These skills proved indispensable when I contributed to the Departmet of State's work to improve intergovernmental coordination to slow illiberal political changes across the world, address attacks on school children and teachers in Afghanistan, and initiate a process to better acquaint Foreign Service Officers with the diplomatic and programmatic tools available to help other countries prevent and punish torture.

SINSI is invaluable. It has allowed me access and an insider’s view into the functioning of our federal bureaucracy and provided the skills and experience for a career in a field directly related to my interests. It lends structure to one’s immediate post-graduate years and creates a trajectory of both professional experience and continued academic instruction that leads to an actual career. The fellowship opportunities SINSI provides are extensive, inserting Scholars directly into federal agencies which affect public policy directly and immediately. The placements are at a level that most graduates would be hard pressed to secure on their own.

As an engineering student, I was always drawn to service but was unaware of the many opportunities for engineers in the federal government. This program has opened my eyes to these opportunities while providing me with the critical support and guidance to make the most of my experience. Princeton University's dedication to service and the School’s dedication to this program make SINSI exceptional.

Ever since I came to Princeton, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in government service, but I wasn’t sure how to get an internship or job doing substantive work to address America’s pressing public policy issues. I knew I wanted to make as big a contribution as possible to the nation’s response to the largest economic downturn in decades. SINSI’s deep resources, experience and a track record of working with students to place them in exciting positions in the federal government were essential to securing my internship and fellowship. Students may worry about making a commitment for several years, but SINSI has opened up professional and academic opportunities that no other undergraduate could access. I would strongly recommend any student interested in public policy and making a difference in government service seriously consider the SINSI program.

My initial intent as an undergraduate was to enter directly into graduate school to learn everything I could about international relations before I embarked on my quest to change the world as a naïve but well-intentioned public servant. Accepting the SINSI scholarship put a detour in my plans that I would not have fully appreciated as an undergraduate student, but I am grateful for in hindsight. As a Europe desk officer with the Department of the Army, every day I am faced with situations teaching me how to navigate good ideas through institutions, personalities and conflicting ideologies in order to positively influence the world around me. Working in the federal government has provided me with knowledge that cannot be taught in a classroom, an acute sense of what the military refers to as “situational awareness” – the cultivation of which has made me a more capable public servant and a stronger future student at the Woodrow Wilson School.

As a Fellow in the Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative, I spent the last two years working for USAID in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Prior to my SINSI fellowship, I had great enthusiasm, but no experience in working in the developing world. Despite this lack of experience, my senior thesis made several policy recommendations that would have represented large shift in Tanzania’s malaria policy. After several months working within Tanzania’s government, I realized that my original ideas in my senior thesis were not realistic, but I noticed other policy changes that could have been made and wrote a proposal for one of them, prior to departing the office.
Thanks to my experience as a SINSI fellow, I have learned, not only about the specifics of the Tanzanian government, but also about questioning my own underlying assumptions and seeking to understand what policies are needed, feasible, and sustainable. I expect that these skills will benefit me as a policy-maker in the years to come.

Living and working in Tanzania deepened my realization that poverty is the underlying root to many Tanzanians’ difficulties, preventing them from accessing disease prevention products, great educations, and nutritious foods. I learned that affecting one aspect of development invariably touches upon, and affects, others. This realization will motivate me to communicate with a broader circle of stakeholders than simply the health community when trying to develop and implement policies that improve health.

I was seconded to the Tanzanian government’s National Malaria Control Program, assisting in the implementation of a grant from the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. This grant, along with other donor funds, provided the Tanzanian government with the means to provide a bed net to every child under five years in the country.

The bed net distribution was my primary focus; it began on my first day of the fellowship and ended the day before the fellowship ended. However, I was given the opportunity to perform other tasks, including assisting the Program Manager and staff of the National Malaria Control Program to submit a USD $170 million grant to the Global Fund for additional lifesaving anti-malarial medications and assisting in the preparations for another, larger bed net distribution to all uncovered sleeping spaces.
Keeping pace with these time-limited and complicated grants required constant coordination within the government itself and with the donors, contractors, and local implementers. Because these various groups had the capacity to perform their tasks and understood how to work as a team, these grants were successfully implemented in the required time window, an unusual accomplishment for grant-based projects of this nature.

Working within the Tanzanian government was a unique privilege. As one of two non-Tanzanians working with the National Malaria Control Program, I had the opportunity to work with my Tanzanian colleagues on a daily basis and to experience host-donor relations from the perspective of the host government. I learned the importance of listening carefully to all stakeholders when establishing and evaluating programs. By obtaining stakeholders’ advice from the outset, collaborative problem solving was far easier when issues arose. Office management made an enormous difference in the morale and productivity of a very talented and committed team.

My day-to-day activities varied widely, from supervising the field training for the bed net distribution, to participating in steering committee policy meetings, to reprogramming grant money in light of an unanticipated grant reduction. Frequent and extended trips in the field enabled me to interact with Tanzanians from all parts of the country and learn how local differences need to be accommodated in national programs to mitigate potential conflicts. Because the Tanzanian government coordinated contractor implementation, I went to contractors to assist in various activities including streamlining data entry processes, recording commitments made at meetings, and documenting the bed net distribution process in its entirety.

Working within the National Malaria Control Program further solidified my desire to focus on improving global health. Within this environment, I understood how critical adequate organizational infrastructure is for an already overburdened and under-budgeted work force. If inefficient practices could be gradually replaced by other methods, developed and agreed upon by all stakeholders, the long-term effects on the health of all Tanzanians would be positively affected. 

The Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative (SINSI) accelerated my career to heights I would never have fathomed possible at the age of 23. The program’s generous support and dedicated administrators provided me with the independence, sage advice, and network necessary to secure competitive placements that matched my skills. My two-year fellowship with SINSI consisted of two rotations in the Treasury Department’s Office of International Affairs and temporary tours with the State Department and the Inter-American Development Bank. Each of these experiences sharpened my analytical skills and world outlook, raising my expectations for a productive graduate education at the Woodrow Wilson School this fall.

On September 15, 2008, the day Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, I started my first rotation as a desk economist for the Treasury Department’s Middle East Office. At the time, international financial markets showed signs that the spread of the U.S. economic crisis could magnify Turkey’s external debt vulnerabilities, a potentially destabilizing scenario for the region, and my first major assignment was to advise senior Treasury and interagency officials on Turkey’s prospects for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. Later, I covered Lebanon, assessing its unique position as a regional safe haven for deposits in the wake of the financial crisis, due to its systemically prudent financial system. In this capacity, I managed Treasury’s role in overseeing the execution of the U.S.’s economic assistance pledge to Lebanon, which was conditioned on the Lebanese authorities meeting fiscal policy benchmarks. Finally, the highlight of the rotation was a series of memos I drafted to, then incoming, Secretary Geithner on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) currencies, which are pegged to the U.S. dollar, and their linkages to the U.S. economy. This experience, in particular, was invaluable in developing my analytical skills and shaping the political economic context within which I examine the ongoing debates on international monetary policy.

After six months in the Middle East Office, I seized a longer-term rotation at Treasury’s Western Hemisphere Office. There I covered the Andes (Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia) and built Treasury’s coverage of Cuba’s macro economy. In this capacity, I advised senior Treasury officials on the effects of the global economic downturn in these countries and the implications of their respective policy responses. As part of my coverage, I completed a 3-week tour at the Inter-American Development Bank and traveled to the Andean region frequently, including a 6-week tour at U.S. Embassy Quito. In addition, to my country coverage, I managed the office’s Small Business Finance portfolio. This portfolio, among other things, was comprised of the creation and implementation of the Microfinance Growth Fund for the Western Hemisphere, an initiative called for by President Obama at the 2009 Summit of the Americas, and the creation of the G-20 Financial Inclusion Experts Group, which included the design of the G-20 Small & Medium Enterprise Finance Challenge.

While each of my varied experiences at the Western Hemisphere Office was impressive, the acme of my rotation was my temporary tour with the State Department at U.S. Embassy Quito. I joined the embassy’s Economic Section for six weeks to report on the state of Ecuador’s economy and, in particular, assess the sustainability of its dollarized financial system. During that time, I joined the Economic Counselor in about 35 meetings with Ecuador’s most renowned economists, analysts, and bankers. We also met with the head of the Central Bank, the Banking Superintendent, and Finance Minister. In these meetings, I saw diplomacy in action and used my findings to draft six major cables, along with several memos that were destined to Treasury and the White House.
In sum, my SINSI experience exposed me to an array of issues that allowed me to hone my professional skills and witness first-hand the central role economic policy plays in international relations, particularly during this critical period. In doing so, I am confident that this fellowship has not only prepared me for the challenge that lies ahead at the Woodrow Wilson School, but also better positioned me to pursue a rewarding career in public policy. 

Many of the greatest problems facing our society are fundamentally engineering problems – climate change, energy independence, and nuclear proliferation amongst others. However, the solutions to these problems require innovative policy tools and international cooperation. Through SINSI and my fellowship with the Department of State, I now have the opportunity to apply my undergraduate studies to the interplay of technology and policy and to contribute to the formulation and analysis of climate change policy, especially as it pertains to Europe. Through SINSI, I have been able to pursue meaningful public service directly after college, an opportunity that most college graduates do not get until considerably later in their careers.