Richard, Management Officer
What appealed to me most about the Foreign Service was the ability to help people.
My name is Richard. I am a Foreign Service officer in the management track. I currently work in the office of the Secretary of State.
We advance the travel of the Secretary of State, going out 5 or 6 days in advance to prepare the program.
We negotiate with the host government on who she's going to meet.
The State Department has brought me to every corner of the globe and taught me a couple of languages.
They trained me from scratch on how to be an effective diplomat.
When I was first assigned to West Africa they taught me French.
I was a political officer first year. I reported on human rights abuses. I traveled up country reporting on child labor practices on cocoa plantations.
After that I went to Paris where I was a consular officer.
I interviewed applicants who wanted to travel to the United States.
I helped American citizens who were traveling to France.
We're the face of America to the world. We value differences. We value different cultures. We want to show how our diversity is our strength.
You can't help but feel pride for what you do.
It's filled with adventure and intrigue and a keen sense of mission. I can't wait until I have grandkids and tell them stories about what I used to do.