The Brown & White

No two days are the same working as a Foreign Service Officer abroad, said Jennifer Schaming-Ronan, who spoke on Nov. 12 to a group of students who are interested in the profession. The event was part of International Week.

Schaming-Ronan is the director of the House liaison office in Washington, D.C., and a member of the Foreign Service.

There are 265 U.S. embassies and consulates around the world and Foreign Service Officers work in all of them in various positions.

"There is an American presence all over the globe. It's like a worldwide business," Schaming-Ronan said.

There are two branches of the Department of State, one for civil service and one for foreign.

In the Foreign Service, there are five different roles, or tracks as Schaming-Ronan calls them, that applicants can pursue, including consular, economic, political, public diplomacy and management officers.

Schaming-Ronan worked as a Public Affairs Officer in the Foreign Service in Namibia, Benin, and Jamaica and said each day was a unique experience.

"One day I would be at a mosque talking to citizens, and the next I would be at a school donating textbooks or planting a tree for Earth Day, or one day I would be helping manage a tragedy of some sorts," she said of her time in Benin.

She said the job of a Foreign Service Officer is to basically communicate and spread American ideals and policies throughout the world.

Becoming a Foreign Service Officer is not easy, Schaming-Ronan said. It involves a written exam, testing knowledge of U.S. and world history, culture, geography and current events.

Schaming-Ronan said about 40 percent of applicants pass the written exam.

The next step is to submit six personal statements outlining the applicant's experience, then they are asked to Washington, D.C., for an oral assessment, which is an entire day devoted to examining their skills and personal abilities.

"This is the most stressful part. I was in a group with five other people and the assessors sit in the corners of the room and take notes while we worked through a scenario," she said.

She said a great way to get started at the State Department is to get an internship. "This is a fantastic way to realize if you want to be in the Foreign Service," she said.

After being accepted into the service, members are sent to post all around the world, with most getting their first choice of location. They stay there one to three years and then return to the U.S. for 20 days of leave before traveling to a new post.