 Greetings to all of you HBCU students. On behalf of President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Tony Blinken, and our entire administration, it is my great honor to welcome you to the 12th Annual HBCU Foreign Policy Conference. This conference represents the faith we have in you, the investment we have in you, both as students of today and as leaders of tomorrow. As many of you know, I attended an HBCU, Howard University, which is not far from the White House where I now work. This conference wasn't around then, but I was on the debate team and joined a sorority and interned on the Hill, and I actually ran for my first political office at an HBCU at Howard. I ran for freshman class representative of the Liberal Arts Student Council. And so you see, I like you now that when we attend an HBCU, we learn not only that we have the capacity to be great, but that we have the responsibility to live up to that potential. And you have the responsibility to live up to that potential, and you will to cultivate your talents, to lead with purpose, to make a difference in our nation and in our world, which is why I am so excited to be with you here today. Our world faces incredible challenges, climate change, racial injustice, economic instability, and of course, a global pandemic. On these challenges, on all things, our foreign and domestic imperatives are intrinsically linked. Our strength at home depends on what we do abroad, restoring our alliances, leading with diplomacy, and supporting international institutions. And that's why we need the brightest minds to forge new partnerships, to advance new policies, and to help solve these challenges. In short, we need you. And you know, the first time Secretary Blinken and I met after we were both sworn in, we talked about you, the students of HBCUs. We talked about how you are the future of the United States State Department, how you are the future of foreign policy. As HBCU students, you have likely learned about the African diaspora. You have likely studied about W.E.B. Du Bois and the Pan-African Conference. You care about civil rights and human rights. You care about lifting people out of poverty. You care about empowering all people, including ethnic minorities, including women, including LGBTQ people. And that's why you are the leaders we need today. As you participate in this conference and continue this work, you will carry on the legacy of Ralph Bunch, a black diplomat who helped craft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Of Ambassador Andrew Young, who served as executive director to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference before he served as ambassador to the United Nations, and of Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield, who will hopefully, by the time you see this, be confirmed as our administration's ambassador to the United Nations. We are counting on you to carry on their legacy, to shape the future with the ideals we all share, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. We are counting on you to lead. Your nation is counting on you to lead. So thank you for all you have done and all you will do. Enjoy the conference. May God bless you and may God bless the United States of America. Hello, everyone. I'm Tony Blinken, your Secretary of State. And I'm delighted to join you for this year's HBCU Foreign Policy Conference. As you may know, this is the 12th year the State Department has held this conference. I wish we could be together in person, but today's virtual program is terrific. So whether you're joining us from your dorm room, living room, home office, kitchen table, welcome. Vice President Harris and I are thrilled that you're here because we believe deeply that the United States needs the strongest possible foreign policy and national security workforce. We need America's top minds and most committed public servants. And that means you. Historically, black colleges and universities have been raising up generations of American leaders for nearly two centuries. They do outstanding work, mobilizing change in their communities, across the country, and around the world. They're mission-driven institutions, and so are we. That's why we make a good team. For more than 200 years, the State Department has represented America to the world. It's a privilege and a huge responsibility. And it's been possible because of generations of foreign service and civil service employees, including many proud HBCU graduates, some of whom you'll hear from today, who've done the hard work of formulating policy, carrying it out, communicating with other countries, finding solutions to problems, and helping make the United States a more perfect union. At our best, the State Department has been a place where people of all backgrounds, races, ethnicities, genders, religions, and nations of origin have been able to contribute and lead. Diversity makes any organization stronger. And for the State Department, it is literally mission critical. We are representing the United States. We need a workforce that reflects the diverse country that we are. And the challenges we face are significant. We need to make the most of everyone's talents, ideas, and experiences. If you're a student, you'll learn more today about whether a career and diplomacy is right for you. Our diplomats do everything from working with foreign governments on political and economic issues to helping Americans dealing with problems when they're traveling abroad to fostering cultural and educational exchanges with people around the world. Whatever you're passionate about, science, law, business, the environment, the arts, there's a good chance you can pursue that passion at State. And if you're here today as faculty, your institution may already have a partnership with the State Department. If not, we'd like to change that. And this conference can help us get started. No matter what brings you here, I hope you leave with an even deeper understanding of how foreign policy works and why it matters. Even if it may sometimes feel disconnected from your life, it is actually all about you and your future. Will this planet be safe and healthy for you and your kids? How will we handle the next potential pandemic? What will the global economy be like in 10 years? Will it be providing growth and jobs? How can we protect ourselves from countries or groups that would do us harm? These are just some of the questions foreign policy seeks to answer. The Biden administration has major challenges on our to-do list, bringing an end to COVID-19, addressing the climate crisis, creating a humane and effective immigration system. And we know this, not a single one of these challenges can be met by any one country, even the United States, acting alone. We need to find ways to cooperate with other countries. And that's exactly where diplomacy, where diplomats, where the State Department comes in. That's our job, that's our responsibility. And we're committed to delivering results for you and your families. We'll lead with our values because ultimately foreign policy isn't just something we do. It reflects who we are and who we wanna be. So thank you for your interest in diplomacy. It's a great field. I've dedicated my career to it. We need people like you on our team. So I hope you have a great experience today. And I hope to see some of you in the halls of the State Department in the not too distant future. Thank you. Good morning and welcome to the Department of State's 12th annual HBCU-born policy conference. I'm super excited today. I really hope that you enjoyed the remarks from Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as our remarks from Secretary Blinken to kick off the HBCU-born policy conference this year. Today I have the honor of hosting one of my favorite sessions for the HBCU-born policy conference. We started this session a few years ago when we realized the need for professors, HBCU advocates, for people who may not know all of the resources that are available to the students that they may have influence over. So this is again, one of my favorite sessions that we started along with Global Talent Management a few years ago. So the goal of this session is to give you the tools you need for your students for hopefully gaining a position at the Department of State. So I'm joined today by some, a group of great panelists today. I'm Barbara, Barbara Alston. I'm in the Bureau of Global Public Affairs and I'm your moderator today. With me is Yolanda Kearney. She's a diplomat in residence with the Bureau of Global Talent Management. We have Sherry Young, Academic Programs Branch Chief of Global Talent Management and DeNeo Bryson, who is Academic Exchange Specialist with the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. I'll let them tell you a little bit more about their role here at the Department of State and to find out a bit more about their background. And with that, I'm gonna kick off the first question. As we're asking questions, if you could drop in the chat who you are, what school you're from, what organization you may be with today if you can drop that in the chat for us. Yes, so you know, I'm a very proud Jackson State University alum and very happy to be here with you. So I'd love to know from the audience today who's here with us. So as I kick off the first question for our panelists, we'll start with you, Yolanda. Briefly, tell us about your role at the Department of State and the resources your office provides. After that, we'll hear from Sherry Young and then DeNeo Bryson. Excellent, thank you so much, Barbara. And thank you, everyone, for joining us. I am a very, very proud Howard University alumna, so I hope that my fellow Bisoner out there is strong today. I'm a Foreign Service Officer. I joined the Foreign Service in June of 2004, about the time some of your students were coming out of diapers. I'm a Public Diplomacy Career Tract Officer. I've spent most of my career in the Western Hemisphere and in the Africa Bureau. I am an Africanist by interest and by academic training. I am one of 16 diplomats and residents available to you as a resource. We are around the country. I'll later on share a map of where we are and how you can find us. I cover the DC Metro region, and that's a little bit of a misnomer. I cover DC, Northern Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. So in pre-COVID times, I would be in one of those five places once a week. Now we are almost exclusively virtual and so I'm very happy to help provide some information about what it is that we can do for you. We, the diplomats and residents can do for you, including putting you in touch with folks in the department who have the particular portfolio for what you're covering. So we're well aware that you may not be full-time career counselors that you're probably also professors or you're teaching, you're advising, you're doing lots of things. So this is gonna be a little bit of an information dump for you, but lots of great resources. So today we're gonna talk about the sort of three steps for joining the State Department in some way. The first is internships. The second, exchanges. And then finally, certainly my hope is employment. So on the internship side, there are paid internships for your students and my colleagues today are gonna talk about how your students can access some of those. For exchanges, the traditional exchanges, of course, Fulbright, Boren and Critical Language Program opportunities, those are both focused on language acquisition, which obviously in the foreign service is very, very important. In addition to the Gilman opportunities, those are for Pell eligible students. So we're always happy to have Gilman scholars or some of the strongest interns who have gone on to be employees in the State Department. And then we'll talk a little bit more about employment. So there are many paths to the State Department on the civil service side. We'll talk about pathways a little bit. And then obviously the foreign service for both specialist and generalist. We'll talk a little about what that process looks like, the foreign service officer test, going on to Orals, et cetera, et cetera. But I'm very happy to be here with you. And I'm telling you, we know that you have superstars on your campuses and we're looking for them. Thank you, Yolanda. Now we'll hear from Sherry. Thanks. Hi, everyone. Good morning. Thank you for joining us today. I am Sherry Young. I am the Academic Branch Chief with Global Talent Management Talent Services. Our office is actually in Charleston, South Carolina. So while I do miss working in the DC location, I am very happy to be in the South with the warmer weather. It's supposed to be, I don't know, 70 today. So I'm very happy about that. I have been with the Department of State for 12 years now. I started with Diplomatic Security, where I was one of two who ran the Personnel Services Contractor Program, which was a really wonderful program. And it's still running very strong with Diplomatic Security. I moved over to the Bureau of HR, which is now Global Talent Management, about three years later, where I relocated to Charleston, South Carolina to help stand up our service center. So we are now broken into corporate services, which is where academic programs lies, and then our customer service, which is our staffing and recruitment, our employee and annuitant services, where you can call in with any question that you may have regarding your current or former employment with Department of State. But specifically under academic programs, we are in charge of the program management, the recruitment, the whole life cycle of our pathways programs, which includes our internships, recent graduates program, and the president management fellows are better known as PMFs. So we are the main point of contact for those interested in applying, those who have applied and are working through the hiring process, as well as maintaining their program eligibility throughout their participation in any of the three programs. So I'm really excited to share some information regarding the three programs, more specifically, probably the internship program. Sure, that's what you guys received the most questions about, but definitely let you know how to, kind of the little tips and tricks on how to get in before the cutoff and just how to get yourself, get them their foot in the door with federal government. So thank you. And we'll round out with Daneo. Good morning, everyone. I'm Daneo Brinson, and I'm so happy to be here to share with you. And I am also a very proud graduate of an HBCU. I'm a Spelman College alumna. So shout out to all my Spelman sisters and Spelman colleagues. Share in the chat if you like. And Warhouse and Clark and the Holy Land University Center, of course. So I am a product as well of State Department Internship. I did an internship with the US Embassy in Panama as a graduate student at Georgetown University and now here employed with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs that are known as ECA. Under ECA, that umbrella really enfolds over 50 different programs for educational and cultural exchange. And I as an academic exchange specialist focus specifically on the Fulbright program. Yolanda, our diplomat and residence mentioned some of the other programs like the Critical Language Specialist and Boran and so forth. And then there is the Fulbright program. I will highlight that the Fulbright program certainly has lots of opportunities for students. One being for research and the other mainly for being English teaching assistants. There are also opportunities for our scholars, yourselves, your colleagues, your community back home. There are a plethora of programs. Some are year long. Some are just several weeks like the specialist program is can be two to six weeks. There's international education administrator, IEA program. So there are lots of different programs for our scholars and our students who are of course scholars as well but different tracks. And we are in 160 countries around the world. Obviously, so Fulbright program is very proud to say we are operating in COVID. Of course, it is limited and has been contracted because of the pandemic and certainly looking to go back to the full 8,000 grantees once the pandemic is under control in a safe way. I will say that we are very focused on diversity and inclusion. They specifically went out of their way to hire me about two months ago. And so I am definitely a champion of our HBCUs and we have lots of webinars available for our advisors and those of you who have many roles on campus, as we know. I also worked at Spelman College for over a decade and know that there are many, many hats that you wear officially and unofficially because we care about our students. And so know that we are focused on our HBCU community our Hispanic serving institutions, all of our institutions. And as I said, there is specific training and their support and resources. And we can put some of that in the chat. And what I'll also say is that we have started an HBCU institutional leader focus so that we're sharing every year our HBCUs that are producing full writers. And we also, it is to encourage our other HBCUs to do the same and get the support that you need. And I will stop there for now and kick it back to Barbara. Thank you, DeNayo. Thanks, all of you for that. I want to remind everyone you can drop your questions in the chat. I will be able to give them to our panelists today. And thanks for those comments. We talked about this briefly as a Jackson State University graduate myself in graduating in the 90s. There were programs, but I didn't know about it. If I'd known about this opportunity, I would have known, I would have done it sooner. In many HBCUs may not offer an international affairs curriculum. What can career counselors do to encourage students now to prepare for a competitive career at State? So I'm not, for example, I'm not an international affairs graduate, but here I am, right? So, what can, and I think this is appropriate for everyone, and what can we advise our students to do now to be competitive? And we'll start with you, Yolanda. Well, thank you for this question because we receive it a lot. The first thing that we have to do is a little bit of myth-busting, and I'll use myself as an example. So my undergraduate and graduate degrees are music history and literature. I was a music historian at the Library of Congress before I joined the Foreign Service. My doctorate is in religious studies, largely peace and conflict. So for the Foreign Service specifically, there is not an educational requirement at all. There's none. There are Foreign Service officers who don't have an undergraduate degree at all. It is true, many of my Foreign Service colleagues do have the terminal degree or graduate degrees, but there isn't a calling card necessarily when it comes to an academic background. So the first step is to help students understand that for the Foreign Service specifically, a well-rounded candidate is going to be the best candidate. So while you may hear people who sort of scoff at a traditional liberal arts background, we know that the 13 Foreign Service dimensions, and I'll put those in the chat for everyone, the Foreign Service dimensions, those are the things against which we evaluate candidates for employment. And once you're hired as a Foreign Service officer, those Foreign Service precepts are based on those 13 Foreign Service dimensions. We know that a well-rounded candidate is going to be the strongest candidate. That said, many people have a very, very specific degree, about an academic pedigree, sometimes in STEM or in other areas, and they go on to have perfectly fine careers. So on the Foreign Service officer side, hear me clearly that there is not an academic requirement. For Foreign Service specialists, obviously, if we're hiring someone as a physician, they absolutely must be a licensed physician. And on the civil service side, the recommendations and the requirements are listed clearly in the vacancy announcements. So a little bit of myth-musting out there. The best candidate is going to be a well-read, intellectually curious candidate who has a broad background in a lot of subjects. Thanks so much for that. And Sherri, we'll go on to you to talk about what advisors can do to encourage to do now to prepare for a competitive career at State. Absolutely. So the really great thing about our internship program, the Pathways Internship Program, is one that it's paid. So this gives students the opportunities to kind of get their foot in the door, experience what it's like to be a federal employee, as well as still being able to attend their academic program, either virtually if they're doing online school or if they actually have to go return back to their university to complete their program in person. So we do offer a lot of flexibilities, but the one thing I would also kind of piggyback off of Yolanda is that when interested candidates are applying for the Pathways Internship Program, their degree does not need to be related to the position that they are applying for. I too have a liberal arts degree. My master is in business and here I am working in HR and have been from the get-go. So I would say the federal government as a whole, unless you are going into a professional series, does not require that your education match up with the position that you're applying for and selected for. With the internship program, I always advise our interns that maybe they just apply to any and all internship positions. I get it. It's very competitive. They just want a job. And they want to have that ability to convert non-competitively at the end of their academic program. But I would suggest to them that if their passion, if their degree is in engineering, but they're working as an HR intern, if that's not something that interests them, that they begin networking during their internship. And we are actually working on a modernization project with the internship program specifically to provide more networking opportunities for our interns so that we can get them placed in a more specific career path once they do graduate. Now, that's not to say, again, I thought I was going to be a school psychologist and here I am. But maybe their passion changes as they're doing their work. But networking from the get-go and just kind of an FYI, we actually have about a 90% to 95% conversion rate for our interns within the Department of State. The other advantage to the internship program is that at the end of their academic program, they can convert non-competitively anywhere in the federal government. They do not have to stay in the office, the bureau, or the agency in which they completed their internship. So this is, again, a really good opportunity for them. And this is where you can encourage them to begin networking and looking for other opportunities within the federal government. Maybe, again, they might want to be doing engineering or more of a scientific background position. Maybe they want to go look at an agency that specializes in that. And maybe the State Department isn't that. And while we hate to lose our interns, I'm always happy to just see them convert into the federal government as a whole because they're going to have that experience and that knowledge of the inner workings of a federal employee already. So for you as the career counselors and their professors, I would say, just have them apply to everything. I mean, it's a matter of getting their foot in the door. Don't let them shy away from the fact that it's not what they think they want to do in the future because there are tons and tons of opportunities within the Department of State and within the federal government as a whole. All right, we'll round out with you, Danelle. I would echo certainly one my colleagues are sharing. And if we're going to get right down into the nuts and bolts, we need to know how to write well. We need to know how to speak well, whether that's one-on-one or in front of 100 or 1,000 people. And we also need to know how to network well. Those are going to serve our students and us as professionals very well. And there are so many ways to do that, right? They could be writing for the school paper, join Toastmasters or volunteering in the community or on campus for different things where you can gain all of those skills. And so I just encourage us to continue to help our students with their writing, their speaking, and their networking. And I would add that intellectual curiosity, as my colleague, Department of Residence Kearney mentioned, is very important and also emotional intelligence. So I will round it out with that. Thank you. The thing that I'd add to that, what would I tell my 19-year-old self, is to take French or Spanish seriously, that there is a why beyond the test, right? I made an A, but I never really thought about it after. So I would just add that. So it's great to see we've got some questions coming from the chat. And this one may be something that you may be able to answer, Sherry. And it is, is there a way to become a part of the Pathways program as a contractor? That is, if they are a graduate student? No, not. Well, I mean, obviously, they could come in as a third-party contractor. But that wouldn't be through the Pathways program. I mean, the Pathways internship is an accepted service appointment. All of our internship positions are announced on USA Jobs. And so that's the only way for them to come in through the internship program. But there's plenty of avenues to join the department as a contractor, for sure. It just, those are going to be more after you've graduated, not so much while you're still going to school, if that makes sense. Hopefully, I answered that question. OK. Are there any other thoughts from the panelists before I go to another question from the chat? With that, I'll move on to another question that we got. How can a recent graduate with a BS, a Bachelor of Science, and a Schedule A authorization get into your pool of consideration for civil service positions? I'm happy to kick this one off. Kind of what I mentioned, there are several different avenues for individuals to join the federal government. Schedule A is definitely an option for non-competitive appointment authority. That I would suggest with that, you keep an eye out on the positions available on USA Jobs, set up an alert for what interests you, either through a safe search on USA Jobs or through the careers.state.gov website so that you are alerted immediately when these opportunities come available. And for that, there is a specific email address that you would send your resume and any supporting documents to, which would be like your Schedule A letter. And then if you need to provide transcripts for that particular position, and then they will pass that information along to the HR specialist who is handling that particular recruitment case, you also could contact the HR specialist listed on that USA Jobs announcement to ask them how you could apply using your Schedule A authority. There are the opportunities come in. If you are pursuing, let's say you're going from your bachelor's degree to your master's degree, you can still apply through the Pathways Internship Program as long as you can provide proof that you are enrolled in your next academic program. This would just be like a letter, your welcome letter from the university. This would be just a screenshot of the classes that you're currently, like your upcoming classes that you're enrolled in, or again, transcripts to show that you are actively pursuing that degree. Students are not looking to obtain an additional academic degree. Then they can apply using the recent graduates announcement, which allows individuals to apply up to two years after graduating. You would just provide a copy of your transcript showing the degree conferral date, meaning that we would just need to be able to see that you actually did graduate from whichever academic program. But again, that gives students the opportunity to apply two years after graduation. Again, this is an accepted service position. It's a one-year academic program. After the one year, they do have the option to convert non-competitively to the civil service. So it's a really great opportunity to, again, get your foot in the door with the recent graduates program. It's a very dedicated program to training resources, hands-on, as well as formal training. They provide the students a rotational opportunity as well. Again, and then once you complete that program successfully, then they can convert the student non-competitively into the civil service. And then at that point, they can go wherever they want. Great. Thank you so much for that, Sherry. I think that, Yolanda, you talked to this a little bit earlier, but I see a question in the chat regarding the Foreign Service Officers' Test. And the question is, what are some recommendations that you have for preparing for the Foreign Service Officers' Test? Thank you for the question. I'm going to share my screen because step one is to know where your diplomats and residents are. So my colleague, diplomats and residents, if you go to the careers page, careers.state.gov, you'll be able to find us. There's an interactive map. There's a text version also. So first step is, where's your DIR? Point your students to their diplomat and residents. The great and best tool is to take the Foreign Service Officer Test practice test that we have here on this page, on this same page. It's an excellent diagnostic tool. The questions on that practice test, you can take it here on the careers page or on our app. Those are retired FSOT questions from prior iterations of the exam. So these are not hypotheticals. These are real questions. At the end of that practice test, the candidate will have an opportunity to see where the strengths and weaknesses are. From there, on this same page, they'll have the opportunity on the learn tab to look at our suggested reading. So if, for example, they need to learn more, the practice test tells them they need to learn more about organizational structure or development, then there's a resource for them that the State Department has already identified to help them bone up on whatever that is. The FSOT is offered three times a year in February, June, and October. Registration for that test opens about a month before. Candidates are required to provide their, they're called personal narratives. These are six short essays. They're 1,300 characters, which for most people is about 200 words. So six short essays that are required before you register for the exam. They're not going to be able to choose an examination date or test site until they submit those. So once again, those writing abilities are going to be very, very key. For counselors, the one way that you can help is to take a look at your students' writing. Those six personal narrative prompts are based on the 13 foreign service dimensions, the links put in the chat. I can't stress this enough because this is what we're looking for. The State Department is not making anyone read tea leaves. We're very upfront about what we're looking for. So have your students talk to you first about what about their oral communication skills? What about their intellectual skills? Have them a right for you and take a look. You're the greatest resource that you have, that they have on campus. We love on them a lot at HBCUs. You know how this works. And so that critique comes from a place of real love and to help them strengthen their writing skills. So again, point them to their diplomats and residents. You please also be in touch with us. Diplomats and residents are here for you as a resource for your students also. And take the FSOT practice test. There are lots of materials that are online. You should know that the federal government is never, the State Department is never going to make anyone pay for any of these resources. So if they've clicked on something and it says enter their credit card number here, they should probably back out of that resource for a couple of reasons. One, it's not official. Two, why would you do that? Three, who are these people? So there is a little bit of a cottage industry that's popped up around the FSOT. People who are counselors who say that they can help students prepare for the test. I have no idea who these people are nor does the State Department really care. And also for people who have, you know, my cousin's a foreign service officer, that's great. But if they came in in 2004, like I did, I needed to know that that process has changed significantly. It's changed actually since 2019. So even if you know someone or they know someone in the foreign service, really make sure that they're in touch with the DIR. We have the most recent information for them. So I'm gonna stop sharing my screen now. Thank you so much for that, Sherry. I just want to remind everyone, if you're just joining, you've joined the HBCU influencers round table. This is a very good discussion for you to have the resources that you'll have today. But then too, how do we follow up from there? As I continue to answer questions that we've received from the chat, I wanna remind you to let us know what institution you're from today or what organization you're here with today. And then the second ask, I want you to put in the chat because as my colleagues did go to Spelman and there are some HBCUs I work with that may not have as robust international affairs engagement. If you could drop on the chat, just some best practices that you've done at your institutions for others to share because this is information exchange from us at the Department of State. But we know that that information exchange from institution to institution is also helpful. Or things that you may have taken advantage of at state and how and how and what you did. So with this, we talked about, I've heard us talk about this on our panel about the Department of State's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and accessibility at the Department of State. And I see a good question in the chat regarding opportunities for graduates with disabilities who are interested in civil service opportunities. Can we, I'll start with you, Yolanda. And then if there's anyone else that wants to chime in on that, please do. Sure. And I'm so happy for the question. I have in my region, Gallaudet University from which we recruit heavily each year. And so the first question is going to be what does a reasonable accommodation look like for each candidate? And so obviously that that differs from person to person, candidate to candidate, but the State Department does take inclusion very, very seriously. We do have foreign service officers and specialists with disabilities who are stellar officers and specialists, they have fine careers. And so you should know that just because there's a disability that does not at all mean that the foreign service is something that's not on the table. So reach out on the civil service side. I'm sure Sherry is going to be able to provide some information about reasonable accommodation and how to make those requests. Hi, yes. So I am not 100% familiar with the process for reasonable accommodation, but I do know that we have a dedicated team that works very, very hard to make sure that they get the resources to those individuals when they're needed. But as far as gaining employment with Department of State, again, the Schedule A Authority is a really great opportunity for individuals to apply and be selected non-competitively through the civil service. Now the Pathways Internship Programs, the recent graduates and the PMFs, we do not have like a Schedule A Appointing Authority because we are a special appointing authority through Schedule D. But again, with the civil service or accepted service if you are just looking to get in through regular employment, I highly suggest using the Schedule A Authority. This is, I mean, I encourage it. It's a very simple process. All you have to do is gain a letter from your medical professional that you don't have to disclose any information. It's very much just like a two sentence letter that needs to be signed, dated and be on letterhead from the medical professional, just saying that, yes, you do fall within the Schedule A Authority. And like I said before, just make sure you're keeping up with the announcements that are being posted because that's how you'll know what's available, what you're interested in, and then you can apply either. And I'll find that email address and provide that for you guys. And then as well as contacting HR specialists who's noted on the announcement to find out how you can apply using Schedule A. If I may add also for the FSOT, for candidates who need reasonable accommodation for that, when you register for the FSOT link in the chat, you can make your request for reasonable accommodation right there on the Pearson View site. So Pearson View is our contractor for the FSOT test administration. So right from the beginning, it's clear that the department is very, very dedicated to making sure that we provide opportunities for all candidates. So bring your talents to the department. You should not select out. You should be bringing all of your talents and let's have a conversation about how you can have this fabulous career. I would echo that as well. And the State Department is very committed to providing the supports that we need if we in fact have a disability. And I would certainly just really echo, don't select out, let us know. I will also add that for, in the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, these are all cultural, professional, international exchanges. We ask those same questions and we work with our implementing partners to ensure, please excuse the DC helicopters hovering closely in the background. We ask about if you have any disabilities or you need any accommodations and so there should be no doubt in our minds that if, in fact, you have a disability and need that support, it should not, you should not self-select out of applying for exchange programs. And we have systems in place and support for you specifically to ensure that you have the best experience and the safest experience. And there's also, I would highlight that MobilityUSA, which is short for, MyUSA is the MIUSA acronym. They specifically are funded by the State Department as an implementing partner to support exchange participants of our programs that have disabilities. And it is called MobilityUSA, but it is of course expansive of more than just disabilities that are about Mobility. So please encourage all of our students to do the exchange program, apply for exchange programs and then get the support they need. Thank you so much for that. So with, as we talk a bit more about the Pathways program and I love the questions that we're getting about because they wanna know what's the answer to the test, right? I would wanna know, right? And that's exactly what we're doing here. So what is the criteria for being chosen in the Pathways program? What qualifies as a good candidate? I would open that up to, as we can frame this in the Pathways program, but then a candidate for some of the programs, exchange programs as well, because I would want to know what would help me get into that. But we'll start with you, Sherry, on what looks like a good candidate for Pathways and then even Yolanda after that, we'd like to hear from you about Foreign Service as well. Sure, so with the Pathways internship program, everything is based on education. We look for a minimum of the program requirements. So a student needs to have a 2.0 GPA or higher. They have to be currently enrolled or accepted into an academic program within a credited university. And depending on the grade level of the position that they're applying, they have to meet that particular educational requirement. So for example, if you're applying for a GS5 student trainee position, you would have to, the student would have to provide transcripts and these can be unofficial transcripts that shows that they have at least 120 credits that's gearing towards their bachelor's degree or have already earned their bachelor's degree and enrolled into a graduate program. So we clearly spell out in all of our vacancy announcements exactly what the educational requirement is for each position and grade level. Occasionally when we do announce foreign affairs officer positions, we are allowed to put in a basic educational requirement. Not all offices opt to do this, but it is an option. And all this means is that they would have to demonstrate on their transcripts that they have X amount of credits in a related field and most of it is liberal arts. So it honestly, most people are able to meet this requirement regardless of what their degree is in or going towards. So just keep that in mind that there are certain positions that we can add this basic educational requirement to on top of whatever the educational requirement is for that particular grade level. But again, we clearly spell that out in all of our announcements. This doesn't really apply to college students but our Pathways Internship experience, we do start at the GS1 level, but with that you have to be at least 16 years old when the vacancy announcement closes. So this is just a little tidbit in case you guys have your own children that you'd like to have applied to these positions or friends or family that you do have to be 16, you do have to be a US citizen, a 2.0 GPA and then again meet the requirements for that particular position in your academic studies. So for exchange programs that are offered from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, you know, every application has essays, background information, your bio, if you will, your recommendations. The first thing that the State Department and the federal government want you to do is follow the directions and the word count and so forth and get right to the point, which I think is now really because of the word requirements or the character count you have to do. And so that's where the writing skills come in, right? And the recommendations, we wanna be sure that our students are getting recommendations that are not just positive but glowing and making sure that our students share all the information they need to with their recommenders so that they have a robust, robust packet of information in order to write the best recommendation. Again, I would just say follow the instructions and they, you know, you all are here to help them review everything in their application to make sure that everything is there and that, you know, they've done their spell check and you've reworked whatever pieces that need help. And I would also add further when we talk about shifting to USA jobs, that gov when our students are looking and ourselves and our colleagues looking for jobs with the federal government. It's a very specific process. And I know Sherry and our diplomatic residents, Karen, you can share more of that but the Office of Personnel Management, OPM, offers webinars on how to best use the resources and apply on USAJobs.gov, excuse me. And you, in using those webinars, myself and then talking to people who recently applied for the government, those were tools that were able to help me successfully become a civil servant, along with the experience that I brought to the table. But you certainly need resources to help be successful with the process because it is quite a robust process. But I would just circle back to, you know, our writing and speaking and networking skills are really just going to play a pivotal part in being successful. Yeah, thank you so much for that. You answered a couple of questions we had in the chat. Well, it was similar. And one of the questions is, is there a programming and training we provide for proper resume building specifically for entering the federal government? I strongly encourage you to look at the entire menu of choices for this HBCU conference today. If I'm not mistaken, I believe that there are some areas that will really get into that. The good thing today is that you're already in the network for when we offer more of those opportunities. I know that the coordinator, Candace Hilton, and I have talked about other ways to continue this conversation for beyond today, but we will try to continue to connect the dots because that is what does your resume look like? And we do know that there is specific training that has to happen for that. And before we go to something that we'll round out a few other questions I see regarding pathway opportunities, one around that was one last question regarding PhD programs and internships. So if could you, panelists, all open it up and we'll start with you, Daneo. There's a specific person I have in mind who was a PhD student. She took advantage of a Fulbright program and I was just tickle pink to know that she had that opportunity at Jackson State University. Excellent, I'm so glad to hear and would love to know who that is. I will start with saying that we are celebrating the 75th year of the Fulbright program that was enacted in 1946 by President Truman, the Fulbright Act and to, you know, the purposes to promote international goodwill and mutual understanding. And so the Fulbright program has lots of opportunities for our PhD students and then on the other side once they have completed their work and dissertation and earned their PhD and our scholars in the profession. So the two main ones that I'll talk about are US scholars. That is typically a year where you're going overseas to do research in your discipline and it is something that in your application you share the kind of research that you would like to do. We've had, if you can think of it, we've had that type of Fulbrighter who's done research on things as small as mosquitoes in Panama to studying glaciers and Iceland to every continent studying everything. And so there is a rigorous application process and that deadline is in the fall and there are links that we're putting in the chat. But it's eca.state.gov or slash Fulbright. And our implementing partners are, we have quite a few but the main one is an Institute for International Education, IIE, and IRX and world learning to name just a few. They help us interview and select our Fulbrighters. So the other program is the US specialist program. Those are for our professionals who maybe you don't have a full year to move your whole life, perhaps your family overseas. So these are two to six week programs where you would go to a foreign educational institution or NGO or public health institution and you're helping them with an issue, maybe it's strategic planning, but you're helping them from your standpoint and your expertise to help your colleagues overseas. And that you get on a roster. So you can apply on a rolling basis and then you're on a roster for three years to match with a institution overseas that needs your expertise. So that's the US specialist program. And then there are others as well, but those are the two main ones and you can find everything on eca.state.gov or slash Fulbright. And if you have questions, you can also email scholars with an S plural at IIE.org. If I may, I just jump in really quickly, put on my public affairs counselor hat. So after you do all of this work with your students for yourself, ultimately what you're waiting for is your application packet to fall on the desk of the public affairs officer. And so what is Yolanda thinking when she sees this and sit down with my staff? Frequently where people go sideways is having not done their research. So not in their field. They know whatever their subject is called. The problem is they've not looked at the host institution or carefully enough or they've not looked at what it is that the US government is doing in country. So in some cases we've seen people apply for things like you wanna work with an institution that is actually banned by the United States right now or has been deemed a terrorist organization. So the public affairs officer is gonna have to say no to that. So making sure that you understand the lens for whom are you writing? This is gonna be the case for anything that you do when you approach the federal government. But also what is it that we're doing in country? Every embassy website has a little lovely tab that says our relationship. At the top of that it's got an overview of the ambassador and the deputy for mission but under that it gives you information about what are our goals? And none of this is you having to read tea leaves. Our goals in country are, we're focused on sustainable economic development. We're focused on humanitarian response to evil, whatever it is. But making sure that your application is, that it's clear to you and to the person who's reading it that you understand the donor. You're asking for money. You're asking for support from the State Department to do a thing. So make sure that the institution from which you're requesting those funds, that though your request and that institution's goals are not incongruent. It's really important. Otherwise, it's a fascinating application but it's a big fat no. Thank you. Thank you Barbara. I am so sorry we have to move on. I am going to ask you though if you could drop in the chat how people can continue to engage with you about these programs so that they know how to reach out to you and then so that they can be a part of some of the other times that I know that you reach out. We have a presentation. We're gonna have to do it in like seven minutes though and then hopefully be able to hear some last words from each one of our panelists before we close. So we'll move on to Sherry. Again, I know that this takes usually longer but if you could do it in seven minutes, that'd be great. That's not a problem. Yeah, and some of this we've already covered so I can easily skip over some of these. So just with this slide right here, this is just letting you know that the Pathways program began in 2012 and like I was saying, this is an umbrella program so this encompasses our internships, recent graduates and our PMFs. And as I noted earlier, all three programs do provide our participants the eligibility to convert non-competitively to the civil service. So next slide please. As I mentioned earlier again with the internship program, any student who is currently enrolled or an individual who's been accepted into a qualifying educational program, they are eligible to apply to the internship program. Again, you must be a US citizen, at least 16 years old, be enrolled at least half-time, part-time in your academic program, have and be able to maintain a 2.0 GPA and then be qualified for the particular grade that's being the announcement. It's the position being announced, sorry. There are two different programs with the internship, two different ways, I'm sorry, appointments and what you can be appointed. We do not typically hire under the temporary experience program, the ITEP. This is really great for opportunities where there's special programs or maybe they're just looking for seasonal work, but most of the time, I would say 99% of the time, we announce our internships using the IEP, which is expected to last the duration of the individual's academic program. These individuals are eligible for promotion and reassignment throughout their participation. They're eligible for all health benefits and life insurance benefits. And then they do have the ability to go on leave without pay. Kind of what I mentioned earlier, if they have to physically return back to their university or their school to complete their semester or term, what we would do is place them on leave without pay to avoid them having a break in service. So this just helps them out, it helps out the office, it's less time consuming to bring them back during their breaks, et cetera. Okay, next slide. The recent graduates program, as I mentioned, is a one-year developmental program. With this, they will get a mentorship throughout the entire program. They'll receive 40 hours of formal training. They will have the opportunity for one rotation. This can be done within their office or bureau, but it could also be anywhere within the Department of State. In order to be eligible for this program, you have to have graduated within two years by the time the announcement closes. Okay, next slide, please. The PMF program is a two-year leadership developmental program. These are for individuals who have already received advanced degrees of a master's or more. With this program, they'll receive 160 hours of formal training, two developmental rotation assignments. These can be done overseas and domestically. One rotation is for four months, one rotation for six months. They do have the potential for promotion after one successful year of their program. And again, as mentioned, they do have the potential to convert to a permanent civil service position after the two-year programs completed. Next slide. With the PMF application process, it's a little bit different than the recent grads and interns because they are not announced on USA Jobs. They are actually announced using this talent management system, TMS, which is owned by OPM. Vacancy announcements are listed on this site. Then once the announcements closed, our office, our HR specialist will do the review of applications, make sure they're qualified, and then all notifications will be sent using this TMS program versus USA Jobs. Next slide. With the internship and recent graduates application process, all vacancies are posted on USA Jobs. All of the internship positions will have a cap for non-passport positions. They are capped at 50 applicants. For passport-related positions, they will be capped at 100 applicants. Just an FYI that you might wanna pass on to your students. The announcement will stay live on USA Jobs for 24 hours, even if the cap has been met. So they may think that even if the, they had the ability to submit their application, it doesn't necessarily mean that we're going to be reviewing it because maybe the position closed at noon time, but they didn't submit their application until two o'clock in the afternoon. So it's not just a guarantee that they were able to submit it that we're going to review it. Once the announcements closed, we will again do the review of applications to make sure they meet the program and eligibility qualification requirements. And you will receive three, if not four notifications via USA Jobs. So this should give them a step-by-step on where their application is in the process. Okay, next slide. If they are found eligible, they'll be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and selection. This process, they have up to 20 days to do interviews and make their selection. So again, just kind of keep that in the back of their mind that it's not, the announcement closes and then they're going to receive a selection within a day. It could take three, four weeks at that point. Once a student has been selective, we'll get them out their tentative offer and begin their security clearance. I'm sure everyone is very aware that clearance process is the most lengthy part of the hiring process. This can take anywhere from four to six months. And to be completely honest, we've seen them last even up to a year. So once the clearance has been granted, then we will work with the hiring office and the student to get them a start date and then send them their pre-employment paperwork. Again, this is something that we would walk through the entire process with the student. Next step. So this is the important part right now. As I mentioned earlier, make sure you have your students go to the careers.state.gov website and sign up for the email notifications. This will alert them at 12 o'clock in the morning that there is a position available on USA Jobs based off of whatever interest they selected. It should have in the email notification. I wanna say it has the direct link to USA Jobs but I can't be 100% certain. Also, do the saved search on USA Jobs. Same thing, this will send an email notification letting them know there's an opportunity available. I do suggest that they create their USA Jobs account in advance, upload all of their required documents. So they're unofficial transcripts, they're proof of enrollment. Any documents that they will need, I would suggest doing that before any vacancy announcement goes live. And then the big thing is set your alarm. All of our announcements go live at 12 o'clock one Eastern time. Again, there are caps set on all of these vacancy announcements. So it is not unlikely that these caps we met within minutes or hours of them going live. It really just depends on how competitive that particular position and job is. So wake up early, get it done and then go back to sleep. So just know that they will close quickly. Next slide. And then I'll just do this real quick. There are program requirements for each of our different programs that have to be met in order to be eligible for conversion to the competitive service. And I'm happy to share this presentation with whoever wants it after the fact. So you can kind of take a little more time to review these. But this is really the last slide right here, just knowing that there is the availability. If any of your students or you have questions, please email us at pathways at state.gov. We monitor this box all day, Monday through Friday. So we are happy to help you in any way possible. Thank you. Thank you so much for that sharing. And yes, we'll make sure that this goes into the resource packet. Oh, great. We follow up with global public affairs. So as we close, there were such good discussions, such good stuff in the chat today. Thank you so much for being here. As you're thinking about careers, don't forget about global public affairs. We want you here and we want your students because they're those communication skills. You're seeing them in place. This conference would not be possible. So with that, we'll close up with a last minute, a last remark. Just give us one takeaway. We'll start with you, Yolanda. My one takeaway is that your students can be competitive. And here are the caveats in less than a minute. Competitive for internships, for exchanges, and employment. The first thing is that they need to bring their best and authentic self. We're not really interested in clones. We have enough of those. So bring your full authentic self and your best self. It's always competitive for any part of the State Department. So this is not kind of a half step. I think I might kind of wanna, if they're not ready to apply, that's fine. Sit this cycle out, but bring your best self when you get ready to apply for whatever it is, internships, exchanges, or employment. The second is to remember that they can be competitive so long as they remember that we serve the American people and not a particular administration. So if your students are saying to you, there's no way I could work for that person, this is not the gig for you. We take an oath in the Foreign Service to the Constitution of the United States and not to a person. So if they don't feel they can carry out this job because a certain person is in the White House or they only are interested when a certain person is in the White House, this is not the gig for you. They can also be competitive so long as they are able to contextualize the so what. I'm an ex-club, so what. I studied abroad, so what. I volunteered, so what. All of those are great things, but when they are applying, we need some context. So what, you went abroad, that's great. What did you get out of that? And then finally, make sure that you're just in touch. You and they are in touch with your diplomats and residents. We're here to give you straight talk about how this all works. And I will share my screen in these last 12 seconds so that you can find us. We're all on careers.state.gov. Your students can do this and we're looking for them. Thank you, Yolanda, on to you, DeNail. These programs, internships, exchanges and employment, these are for us. Our students, you are preparing our students. We know the ones who are interested and ready for these opportunities. And so don't hesitate to reach out to us. Encourage our students and yourselves to find out and get involved and apply and know that you have support systems. You have resources from those of us here and online. So many more resources than we would have had I know when I was as a student. And just know that this is for us. And we are looking for you. We're looking for our students. As our diplomatic residents, Yolanda Kearney said, we want the whole well-rounded person. So I majored in Spanish. That was great. The language was great to propel me into this career. But it doesn't matter, you know, she, excuse me, diplomatic residents Kearney was music major and religion. We all have our stories. And we need all of those stories to come to the table and represent the United States of America. And I would also add, as she did, as a civil servant, you also take an oath to the Constitution of the United States, not to a person or a party or what have you. And so let's be clear about that. And let's be clear that our federal government needs to continue to improve and represent all of us in the United States. With that, we are right at 1115. Sherry, we will follow up with your presentation that you shared. I echo all of the remarks today. The authentic self, I love that. And know that we're a resource for you. Thank you so much for joining.