With all qualifying issues behind them, five Howardites are either in training already to become diplomats, scheduled, or at the ready!

This means passing both written and oral examinations from the State Department and receiving "the call" for service, starting with introductory classes at the Foreign Service Institute.

The group consists of Marsha Brown, Mozella Brown, Andrew J. Critchfield, Maya Harris, and Kali Jones.

Mozella, a former Patricia Roberts Harris Fellow who earned her bachelor’s degree with honors at Howard in 2001, is completing a master’s degree in international relations at Georgetown, following which she will join the diplomatic service. She is a Thomas J. Pickering Fellow.

Also a 2001 HU summa cum laude graduate, Maya already is enrolled at the Foreign Service Institute, where she is in training to become a Foreign Service Officer. Upon leaving Howard, where she majored in anthropology and minored in communications, Maya worked for the Prince George’s Country School System. As a 9th grader in Columbia, MD., her hometown, Maya was a "student ambassador," traveling to Russia, Poland, and the Netherlands under this program.

On call is Marsha Brown who earned her master’s degree in public administration at Howard. While at Howard, she served internships at the State Department, the U.S. Embassy in Accra and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Ms. Brown Volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for the Washoe County family court in Reno, NV.

Andrew was awarded the PhD at Howard last May in intercultural and organizational communications, having earlier earned a bachelor’s degree at Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho, his home state, and the MS at Ithaca College (N.Y.). A teaching associate at Howard, he has served State Department and Bunche Center internships in Mongolia, and has lived and worked in Japan, China, and Taiwan. A Sasakawa Fellow, he is awaiting assignment.

Kali Jones, a native of New Orleans, will leave her position as Associate Director for Programs at the Bunche Center to begin diplomatic service training in September. Also a former Harris Fellow, who finished Howard with honors as an English major, Ms. Jones has JD and MSPH degrees from Tulane University. She spent three years in Madagascar as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

STUDENTS URGED TO APPLY EARLY

<<<continued from "competition opens"

The chief point of contact on campus for aspirants is the Diplomat in Residence, Mr. Nicholas Williams, in the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center (202-806-5904). Mr. Williams is a senior Foreign Service Officer on assignment from the Department of State. He provides application forms as well as detailed information of the application process.

Applicants must have GPAs of 3.2 or higher and must be interested in pursuing international affairs careers by becoming Foreign Service Officers in the U.S. Department of State following graduation.

Interest is in students who have performed well in their academic course work and have participated in activities that attest to their leadership potential and involvement in their communities. As noted by the recent announcement from the Department of State, "Women, members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service, and students with financial need are encouraged to apply."

The aim is to attract talented students in academic programs relevant to international affairs, political and economic analysis, administration, management, and science policy. In addition to contacting the Bunche Center on campus, students may visit the Woodrow Wilson national Fellowship Foundation website: hhtp://www.woodrow.org. They may also contact Sylvia Sheridan, Assistant Director of Public Policy and International Programs (tel: 609-452-7007 or email pickeringfaf@woodrow.org)..