Southern Illinois University Edwardsville hosted Foreign Service Officer Robert Neus, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomat in Residence for the Midwest, on campus on Tuesday, April 19. Neus spoke to approximately 50 students and faculty about the mission of the U.S. Foreign Service and its internship, fellowship and career opportunities.
According to its mission statement, the U.S. Department of State strives to “create a more secure, democratic and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community.”
Neus emphasized the personal and professional impact foreign service officers make around the world through such work as advocating for women’s rights, explaining American foreign policy to citizens of other countries and protecting U.S. embassies from security threats.
“This was one of the bigger turnouts I’ve had in a while, and it shows there is a lot of enthusiasm and global interest,” Neus said. “I really enjoyed the fact that students came up afterwards, and they wanted to know about the different career paths. They wanted to know in detail what they needed to do to make themselves competitive for these opportunities.”
Elizabeth Fulton, a senior international business major and French minor, found a love for other countries and cultures while studying abroad. She attended Neus’ presentation to learn more about future possibilities.
“I enjoyed his personal anecdotes and the way he portrayed the culture of these jobs,” Fulton said. “His stories made a huge difference in how I understand what this job would be like. Otherwise, I might have read the job description, but not gotten the full picture.”
Senior Kyle Shive will graduate in May with a bachelor’s in psychology. His minor is in Asian studies, with a Chinese and Japanese language focus. He learned from Neus that his linguistic understanding of Mandarin Chinese might help him qualify for many of the Department’s competitive opportunities.
“I’m always keeping my ears and eyes open for jobs I could possibly do with the U.S. where I could utilize my language skills,” Shive said. “Neus was so professional, incredibly familiar with the program and has such a vast array of experiences. It’s phenomenal that SIUE holds lectures like this to make us aware of job opportunities.”
For more information on internship and career opportunities with the U.S. Department of State, visit www.state.gov.
Photo: Foreign Service Officer Robert Neus, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomat in Residence for the Midwest.