Annual Report 2014 | American Foreign Service Association

Students could choose from the following topics: the post-

WorldWar II period and the Marshall Plan, the Cuban Missile Cri-

sis, the 1978 Camp David Accords, the end of the Cold War, the

Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Good Friday Agreement,

and diplomacy through development (e.g., USAID, President’s Ma-

laria Initiative, President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief).

Winner Nitisha Baronia is from San Ramon, California. Baro-

nia graduated from Dougherty Valley High School and is attend-

ing the University of California, Berkeley. Her winning essay, “The

Marshall Plan: A Test of Our Progress,”

demonstrated a clear un-

derstanding of the historical impact of the Marshall Plan. She re-

ceived a full-tuition scholarship for a Semester-at-Sea voyage, as

well as a trip to Washington, D.C. On Sept. 29, Baronia and her

family visited the nation’s capital, met Secretary of State John Kerry

and toured Capitol Hill and the State Department with AFSA staff.

Runner-up Angelia Ysobel G. Miranda

from South Kent,

Washington, is a home-schooled student. She won a full schol-

arship for tuition to the summer National Student Leadership

Conference on International Diplomacy in Washington, D.C., and

New York City. Miranda wrote “The 1978 Camp David Accords:

From Divisive Wounds to Inclusive Words.”

Scholarship Committee:

(from left) Lawrence Cohen, Lori Dec,

Amb. Lange Schermerhorn, William Kutson, Jonathan Crawford.

(

Not pictured:

Bess Zelle, Karen Brown, Maureen O’Neill, S.

Katherine Farnsworth, Chanda Berk.)

Get Involved:

AFSA is its Membership

FSA relies on—and greatly appreciates—the input, feed-

back, and participation of members from all foreign affairs

agencies. There are many ways that members of our community

can get involved in the trade association and labor union that rep-

resents the interests of the Foreign Service.

• Run for AFSA’s Governing Board and vote in elections to make

your voice heard in decision-making on the issues that impact

the Foreign Service.

• Volunteer for a committee or a judging panel.

• Become a Post Representative and be a voice for your col-

leagues in the field.

• Share your experiences with others as part of AFSA’s Speakers

Bureau.

• Donate to one of AFSA’s five special funds: Fund for American

Diplomacy, Scholarship Fund, Legislative Action Fund, Legal

Defense Fund or political action committee.

• Submit an article or letter to the

Foreign Service Journal

share your expertise with the

AFSA Newsletter.

• Get in on the conversation virtually by following AFSA on

Facebook or Twitter or visit our YouTube channel or Flickr site.

• Increase our advocacy efforts by writing to your representa-

tives, visit a local Congressional or Senate office, or participate

in a call to action.

For more information go to

www.afsa.org/getinvolved

Retired FCS FSO Karen Zens and retired State FSO Mort

Dworken served as AFSA Art Merit Award judges in 2014.

Pictured here attending a March 2014 art panel student selection

meeting, Zens and Dworkin were just two of the 24 AFSA

members who served as AFSA Merit Award judges in 2014.