2021-2022 Global Ambassadors
In spring 2021, we recruited a group of eight students for the Global Ambassadors Program. This student leadership program is designed for students interested in international service organizations, civil service and foreign service. During the 2021-22 academic year, the Global Ambassadors met weekly with the Mroz Institute’s Director to learn about the history, challenges, and opportunities of U.S. Foreign Service, foreign policy, and the work done by think-tanks and internationally-minded NGOs. Students worked on practical skills required to function effectively in the foreign policy environment and interacted with guest speakers to learn about foreign service and diplomatic work.
Brief Profiles of 2021-22 Global Ambassadors
Jocelyn Bellomo is a junior double majoring in political science and international studies and minoring in Italian studies. She is interested in Italian politics and hopes to work at the UN.
Liza Malcolm is a sophomore in the Honors College double majoring in international studies with a concentration in Latin America and the Caribbean and public health and double minoring in political science and data science. She is interested in international work and public health and hopes to work at the World Health Organization.
Zoe De Luca-Parker is a junior majoring in political science and minoring in film studies. She is fluent in Italian and studied Spanish in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Salamanca, Spain. She is interested in pursuing a career as a U.S. foreign service officer and working at an embassy.
Maddy Landa is a sophomore double majoring in international studies and political science with minors in Spanish and Women’s and Gender Studies. She wants to serve in the Peace Corps and then pursue a graduate degree. She is interested in working with nonprofit organizations that focus on women’s education or going into the foreign service.
Jack Watson is a sophomore in the Honors College triple majoring in international studies, political science and French &Francophone studies and a minor in economics. He is interested in international development, food security and urban farm initiatives. He interned with the U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland in summer 2022, where he focused on refugee movement. His fall 2022 semester will be in France and his spring 2023 semester will be in Egypt.
Kate Coffey graduated in spring 2022 with a psychology degree. In 2019, she spent her summer interning with the GrassrootsReconciliation Group in Uganda where she visited refugee settlements and observed mental health training and reconciliation dialogues with community members. She will serve as a Health Extension Volunteer for the Peace Corps in Togo in 2022-23.
Richie Carchia graduated in spring 2022 with a degree in political science after spending his last semester abroad in France. He is interested in international work with service organizations.
Ainsley Gossett is a junior in the Honors College double majoring in international studies and communication. She interned with Evan Guthrie Law Firm, where she engaged in legal research and assisted the firm’s pro bono clients. She is interested in foreign service and international humanitarian aid.
Global Ambassadors at the State Department
In the 2021-2022 academic year the Global Ambassadors had high impact interactions with the following guest speakers:
- Andrew Segars, U.S. Foreign Service Officer working with USAID Moldova – remote meeting, September 9, 2021
- Deborah Lee James, 23rd Secretary of the U.S. Air Force – remote fireside chat, September 30, 2021
- David Firestein, President and CEO of the Bush Foundation for US-China Relations, October 4, 2021
- Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations – remote fireside chat, October 14, 2021
- Jon Gundersen, former Foreign Service Officer, October 28, 2021
- Danny Jones, former CofC faculty, current Foreign Service Officer serving at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, November 4, 2021
- Allan Rock, former Ambassador of Canada to the UN, November 8, 2021
- Belgian Ambassador to the U.S. Jean-Arthur Régibeau – small group discussion on U.S.-EU relations and security challenges, January 26, 2022
- Damon Wilson, President and CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy – guest talk and informal interaction with the Global Ambassadors, January 27, 2022
- Frank Emerson, lawyer and former Foreign Service Officer; served as
a political officer at the U.S. State Department, provided legal guidance to international courts and tribunals at The Hague, Netherlands and practiced national security law at the CIA – guest visit to discuss the work of international courts and tribunals, February 9, 2022 - George Sibley, Diplomat in Residence Mid-Atlantic, U.S. Department of State Bureau of Global Talent Management – remote guest visit about opportunities at the State Department and the work of an embassy, February 16, 2022
- Lt. General Ben Hodges, former Commanding General of the U.S. Army Europe, and Colonel Ivo Schneider of the German Navy – small group discussion with the Global Ambassadors, March 3, 2022
- Harrison Welshimer, Peace Corps Recruiter – remote guest visit about Peace Corps volunteer opportunities, April 6, 2022
- George Sibley, Diplomat in Residence Mid-Atlantic, U.S. Department of State Bureau of Global Talent Management – remote guest visit about opportunities at the State Department and the work of an embassy, February 16, 2022
2022 Field Trip to Washington DC
On March 7-11, 2022 the Global Ambassadors along with Mroz Institute Bennett Director Dr. Max Kovalov and Mroz Institute Steering Committee member Dr. Beatriz Maldonado spent a week in Washington, D.C. During the spring break field trip, the students visited embassies, international organizations, think-tanks and the U.S. State Department, namely the following organizations:
- The Embassy of Belgium
- Human Rights Watch, visit with HRW Director Jose Miguel Vivanco
- National Endowment for Democracy
- Der Spiegel
- Observer Research Foundation (ORF) America
- Stimson Center
- US Agency for International Development (USAID)
- US State Department, visits with CofC alumni working at State Department
Conversation about careers in think-tanks with Brian Finlay at Stimson Center
At the National Endowment for Democracy for a meeting with NED’s president Damon Wilson
Visiting Chief Correspondent of Der Spiegel Roland Nelles
Visiting Observer Research Foundation America for a talk about cyber security
At the State Department with CofC alums Diane Price and MaryAnn Robinson
Meeting Jose Miguel Vivanco, former Director of Human Rights Watch for the Americas
Cultural immersion at Ethiopian restaurant
At Ethiopian restaurant
Global Ambassadors at USAID visiting Mattito Watson, Senior Technical Advisor for Children in Adversity