USA Study abroad
2019 - 2020
I worked with USA study abroad, a department within the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, to support U.S. students studying abroad. Our office facilitated and promoted scholarships for students and helped them translate their global experience once they returned home. I created social media content, created reports/profiles about programs and alumni, researched trends in study abroad, and more. The covid-19 pandemic began halfway through my internship and I quickly pivoted to track how universities responded to the pandemic, creating a weekly report that detailed which programs were suspended, went virtual, etc. as well as monitoring trends for the upcoming semesters. My weekly report was distributed to dozens of high-level officials to inform department-wide decisions and policy.
services: copywriting | graphic design | outreach | research | strategy
Lauren, an alumna of the 2017 CLS Indonesian program, landed a position in early 2020 as a Stabilization Advisor for the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) at the U.S. Department of State. CSO rapidly deploys stabilization experts and provides data-backed analytics to embassies and the interagency in order to anticipate, prevent, and respond to conflicts that threaten U.S. national security interests. In her role, Lauren manages programming in Burma aimed at preventing intercommunal conflict, and monitors conflict risks in Indonesia.
Lauren is one of the first CLS alumni to successfully use non-competitive eligibility (NCE) status to be hired at the Department of State. Beginning in 2017, CLS alumni who successfully complete the program are awarded NCE status, a special hiring authority granted by the U.S. government for Civil Service employment. CLS alumni can use this status when applying for federal Civil Service jobs to help streamline the process.
Lauren encourages all aspiring public servants to apply for CLS, regardless of their field of study, as the qualities it builds are applicable in any discipline. “Exposure to other cultures, developing resilience and adaptability, and gaining the ability to empathize with other populations are some of the best takeaways from the CLS experience. International exchanges make the world feel much smaller. They humanize news stories that may otherwise feel distant and bring them closer to the heart. There is also no comparison to in-country language studies; students make huge gains in fluency and confidence that would take eons in a classroom.”
While completing her Master’s degree in Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park, Lauren worked as a graduate research assistant studying environmental policy in Indonesia. She applied to the CLS Program as a way to deepen her understanding of Indonesian language and culture. Lauren’s CLS experience helped prepare her for her work at the Department of State by providing her with uncommon Indonesian language skills and a more nuanced understanding of Indonesian culture.
Now more than ever, Lauren is grateful for her strong State Department network and Indonesian host community for helping her land her dream job. Her CLS background has positioned her to better understand the role of the country’s culture, history, and language in the current global context.
Each week, I developed a joint higher ed newsletter for USA Study Abroad and Education USA. This newsletter was distributed to many high-level officials, foreign service officers, and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ covid-19 taskforce.
Attached is a copy of an old newsletter.
Interview w/ the Gilman team
In the fall of 2020, the team at A. Gilman Podcast interviewed me for an episode to learn more about my experience studying abroad and interning for USA Study Abroad.
