Diplomat in Residence – Southern California
(Southern CA, HI, American Samoa, Guam, CNMI)
Tours: South Korea, The Netherlands, Washington DC, Afghanistan, Nepal, New Zealand
Career Track: Management
Years of Service: 24
Prior Experience: I often joke I have no other transferrable job skills since I joined the Foreign Service immediately after finishing graduate school as a Thomas R. Pickering Fellow. State Department was my first and the only job I’ve ever had as an adult! I thought I wanted to be a teacher at an urban public school and inspire a lifelong love of learning and enable students to become powerful and thoughtful leaders for their community. But the Pickering Fellowship provided me an opportunity to pursue a career in diplomacy, something I could not have imagined for myself, and engage with the world as my classroom. The Pickering Fellowship provides a scholarship to finance graduate programs to those interested in pursuing a diplomatic career. Based on the fundamental principle that diversity is a strength in our diplomatic efforts, the program values varied backgrounds, including ethnic, racial, social, and geographic diversity. You can learn more about the program here: https://pickeringfellowship.org/
Languages: Korean
Education: Bryn Mawr College (B.A. in Chemistry and English)
Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs (M.A. in International Affairs)
Interesting Experience: My first overseas diplomatic assignment was at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea – interestingly, the very same Embassy where my parents and I had gone to interview for our Immigrant Visa when I was nine years old. It was a humbling experience to return years later and to stand on the other side of the visa window. I remembered the waiting room (it looked the same!!) and how nervous we were and the devastated look on my mom’s face when we were denied the first time because she had forgotten to bring her medical records. So, when I interviewed the applicants, I recalled my own personal experience and approached each person with due respect and care as though they were my first and only interview for the day. Throughout my career, I have tried to weave humanity and compassion into all that I do by asking, how can I be of help? How can I make this a better experience?
Last Post: Seoul, South Korea
Why I Chose a Foreign Service Career: I chose a career in the Foreign Service because I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself and make a lasting, positive impact on a larger scale. I believe the United States has an immense responsibility and capacity to use our position of influence to pursue just and mutually beneficial solutions to some of the world’s intractable challenges.
Diplomacy was once described by Henry Kissinger as “the patient accumulation of partial successes”. That resonates deeply and it has sustained me over the years. In diplomacy, success is not a zero-sum game; the incompleteness of partial successes means there is always room for more learning and that – at least to me – feels more expansive and sustainable.
As my computer screen saver, I have a photo of a cruise ship in the distance, its front nose appearing in between office buildings. It’s from my tour at the U.S. Consulate in New Zealand (and yes, New Zealand is all that and more!) and serves as a reminder about why I chose a career in the Foreign Service. Because the Consulate is located near a seaport, we often heard cruise ships sounding their horns before making a turn to head to their next destination. I’d see its nose sticking out in between the buildings but even after much time had passed, I’d look up from my desk and would be surprised to still see it there. Eventually, the massive ship does turn and head to where it needs to go, bringing with it all the passengers at once. At its core, diplomacy work is an endurance test. But there have been moments in my career when I wished I was on a jet ski or a turbo motorboat and make that swift turn to do the right thing. But I always come back to wanting to be part of a bigger enterprise in the business of bringing as many people to come on board and help direct our path to get to where we need to go and together.