Alan, Economic Officer
I realized a lifelong dream when I was accepted into the State Department.
My name is Alan. I currently work in the operation center. We connect the department principals from embassies around the world. We brief them to news and information.
One of the reasons that I wanted to join the Foreign Service was my second grade teacher. One of the things she taught us was that there were people whose job it was to go and make friends in other countries and prevent wars and those people were called diplomats.
Wherever there is peace, there is diplomacy. So there is a great satisfaction in serving my country and maybe leave the world in a little bit better place than you found it.
There is no such thing as a slow day and the work itself is fascinating. There is no component of international relations that doesn't depend on the State Department. So there's a weighty responsibility there. You are, for all intents and purposes, America, to them.
When I was in Algeria, I actually observed Ramadan as an act of solidarity with the people who worked in my section. At the end of each night of Ramadan, there is what's called an Iftar and an Iftar is a feast. I was actually invited to a number of iftars by my friends and it was pretty amazing to experience their culture.
The travel is tremendously exciting.
Algeria is a place that has tremendously under-explored Roman ruins. My experiences in Algeria really opened my eyes to the impact of the work that we do.
There is a great satisfaction in serving my country but there's also a great satisfaction in knowing that I am making the world a better place.