“I’ve picked up skills about how to present a complex policy, how to study a language in a very specialized way, and how to manage the people who will help me do my job. Openness to culture, both the State Department’s culture and a foreign culture, really set you off on a great foot when you come into the Foreign Service.”
“The transition for me from the United States Navy to the Department of State, which – was a natural one. I always serve my country, and I continue to want to serve my country. The U.S. Navy taught me leadership and management skills; the U.S. Department of State has taught me customer service skills and a greater sensitivity to others needs.”
“We saw people with purple thumbs, where they had dipped their thumbs in the ink and everywhere we went, people were just so happy — so pleased and so proud of themselves. And for me, since I had been there almost a year and working almost every day towards this very thing, it was just overwhelming.”
“Think of it as a small business, you know, where you’re responsible for all the telecommunications, the computer systems, the radio systems, and the telephone systems. So you’re that person that everybody comes to when they need you know to find out what — ‘How come I can’t get on the internet?’ or ‘How come I can’t — my phone is not working.'”
“I was a lawyer by training and I did child abuse and neglect cases. And that was part of the reason why when I joined the Foreign Service, I learned about the Office of Children’s Issues, and really wanted to work there. I thought this was something I’d like to do and would be good at. It turned out to be true.”
“This is a lifestyle, it’s not a job where you’re going to put a plant in your cubicle corner and watch it grow into a tree in 20 years. You move around you’re expected to adapt well meet new people, learn about new cultures and also perform at a high level.”
“I have the best of both worlds. I have my home here in Washington D.C. and I do travel frequently, usually four or five times a year. I’ve been to 56 countries. I don’t think there is any other place I could do that.”
“The Department of State offers the ability to do something for my country, and that was the most inviting aspect to it all. It’s very difficult to live in Washington and not be a part of the political scene, and I think that once you connect you begin to understand what Washington is all about and that was what drew me to it.”