Student Projects

Deirdre Schiff, Class of 2015

American University Washington Semester

During my junior year, I participated in American University's Washington Semester Foreign Policy Seminar. I lived and attended  classes with students from all over the world, which really enriched my domestic based experience before going to Spain for Spring semester. Each week I interned two days at the French Embassy for the cultural ministry, and for the remaining three days I attended class and seminars. Each week my class visited embassies, think tanks, government agencies, or attended different conferences  depending on which area of US foreign policy we were discussing. We frequented the Middle East Institute and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, but visiting the Turkish embassy was the most interesting visit of the semester for me.

One of my favorite memories of the semester was attending a State Department event honoring Foreign Service Officers and their families. My state Senator, Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), hosted the event where I was able to talk to former ambassadors and other members of the State Department. The accompanying photo is of my classmates and I attending this event.