Madam Secretary

Update: I leave for Rwanda in 78 days!!! So. Much. Excitement.

I met General Colin Powell on Tuesday. That was an awesome experience. He is now the second former Secretary of State that I have met. This time last year I had the amazing privilege to meet Condoleezza Rice, which was an incredible experience as well. It was interesting, because the encounters I have had with the two different former top diplomats of the free world have been nearly parallel in many respects. I was able to attend their small student meetings and the large community lecture, and also got to ask them the same exact question.

And what question was that you may ask? Well, what question would you pose to the person who has achieved your most sought after and desired career goal? Something to think about right? But for me it was an easy choice. I simply asked, "There are many students here today going down career paths that come with very specific steps and instructions to get to where they are going like aspiring doctors for example, but that is not true for those of us who are seeking a career in foreign diplomacy. So what would be your advice to a student who wants to go down this less detailed path?"

Yes, I asked two former Secretaries of State for career advice. What of it? I can be rather self serving at times, and that question is what I long to have an answer to. And in Powell's case that meant not a question about his opinions on Libya, why he jumped ship and voted for Obama, or if he would do anything in his career differently. Nope, I wanted straight forward self serving career advice. And you know what? That's what I got both times with both people, so that is a W in my book. Two W's to be exact.

Now for the next question floating around in your noggins: What was the answer? Welp, both Dr. Rice and General Powell gave very similar answers: Study Abroad, get good internships, work on your language skills, apply for the Foreign Service, etc. This was fairly new advice when it was given to me by Dr. Rice, but an obvious repeat when General Powell told me the same thing. This, however, did not disgruntle me in the slightest. In fact, it made my day. Why? Because a year ago when Dr. Rice was giving me this advice, I hadn't done a single thing on the list. But this time around, I have done all of it. I studied abroad, I have had several good internships including one with the UK Parliament, I have greatly improved in my French skills, and I have applied to the Foreign Service with the FSO test scheduled this summer!

It was the best pick-me-up I've gotten all semester. I, Rachel DeFoe, am clearly on the best path to working in foreign diplomacy according to two of the most accomplished people in the field. Can I get a "Hell Yeah" from the crowd please? HELL YEAH! And going to Rwanda gets me even further down this path. How exciting is that? It's times like these that all the voices in my head that question where I'll be in the future shut up and let me just bask in the sunlight. It's a truly great feeling. Maybe you all should start referring to me as Madam Secretary now just so you get used to it! haha! Secretary DeFoe... hmm... I could get real used to that...