The Foreign Service Journal, October 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 57 AFSA NEWS Representative Adam Schi (D-Calif.) met with a diverse group of Foreign Service o- cers and specialists at AFSA on July 29 for an o-the- record conversation on life in the Foreign Service. Schi, who sits on the House Appropriations Com- mittee and the House Perma- nent Select Committee on Intelligence, was, as he said, looking for insight on what a career in the Foreign Service looks like today. AFSA set up the meeting for Rep. Schi with a group of 18 members, ocers and AFSA/MATTSUMRAK Congressman Seeks Insight on Foreign Service Life specialists from all ranks, many of whom had previ- ously served in Priority Sta- ing Posts and other high- threat, high-risk posts. Rep. Schi opened by urging the group to tell him “what you want members of Congress to know about either life in the Foreign Ser- vice or in the places you’ve been posted.” Discussing career paths, hardship posts, tandem assignments and unaccom- panied tours, the participants shared their experiences, and their frustrations, in detail. Members reiterated the importance of being able to engage safely overseas and the value of language and security-awareness training as part of their preparation for doing so. The congressman closed From left: AFSA President Robert J. Silverman, Representative Adam Schi and AFSA State VP Matthew Asada. The Foreign Service Youth Foundation presented its annual awards on June 27 in a ceremony at the State Department hosted by Acting Foreign Service Direc- tor General Hans Klemm and the Family Liaison Oce. The event also recognized awardees of the Associates of American Foreign ServiceWorldwide Scholarship Merit Award program as well as children whose parents are serving or have served at an unaccompanied post. In 2006, the department began send- ing medals and certificates of recogni- tion to children whose parents were serv- ing or had served at an unaccompanied post. To date, some 5,000 children have been recognized. To learn more about the FSYF awards, visit www.fsyf.org. For more about the AAFSWawards, visit www.aafsw.org . And for additional information about FLO’s Unaccompanied Tours program, see www.bit.ly/UCmedals. ART CONTEST: Ages 5-8 FIRST PLACE: Sabra Goveia, Chisinau, Moldova SECOND PLACE: Abigail Bills, Jakarta, Indonesia THIRD PLACE: Annika Bitner, Jerusalem Ages 9-12 FIRST PLACE: Melody Reynolds, Ottawa, Canada SECOND PLACE: Jacob Newman, Mbabane, Swazi- land THIRD PLACE: Soliana Doutrich, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico Ages 13-18 FIRST PLACE: Alison Dominguez, New Delhi, India SECOND PLACE: Samuel Mitchell, Seoul, South Korea JOINT THIRD PLACE: Eliana Silver, Madrid, Spain JOINT THIRD PLACE: Helen Reynolds, Ottawa, Canada ESSAY CONTEST: Middle School FIRST PLACE: Madilyn Abbe, Jakarta, Indonesia SECOND PLACE: Liam Rathke, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia THIRD PLACE: Daisy Bailey, Manila, Philippines High School FIRST PLACE: Alison Dominguez, New Delhi, India SECOND PLACE: Emma Hannan, Washington, D.C. THIRD PLACE: Elka Sterling, The Hague, Nether- lands K I DV I D CONTEST: FIRST PLACE: Elan Albalak, Bridgetown, Barbados SECOND PLACE: Howard Brown, Reykjavik, Iceland THIRD PLACE: Hugo Goddard and Sophie Goddard, Conakry, Guinea COMMUN I TY SERV I CE AWARD : Alice d’Aboville, United Kingdom Alison Dominguez, New Delhi, India MER I T SCHOLARSH I P : FIRST PLACE: Alexander Robinson, Salvador, Brazil SECOND PLACE: Sumika Davidson, Tokyo, Japan FSYF 25TH ANN I VERSARY LOGO CONTEST: Tyler Feeken, Staord, Virginia AAFSW SCHOLARSH I P MER I T AWARDS : HIGH SCHOOL/GAP YEAR MERIT AWARD: Alexander Robinson COLLEGE MERIT AWARD: Natalie Hernandez BEST ESSAY AWARD: Amelia Smith JUDY FELT MEMORIAL VOLUNTEERISM SCHOLARSHIP: Margaret Hale Foreign Service Youth Foundation Presents Annual Awards by thanking members for their service and promising to help share their stories on the Hill with his colleagues. n –Debra Blome, Associate Editor