By CARSON HUFFSTUTTER

ceh017@latech.edu

 

For someone who has lived in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Portugal, Tech might have been the only foreign soil in sight to Ambassador Joseph G. Sullivan.

Sullivan has been in the Foreign Service for over 30 years and is now a Diplomat in Residence at Tulane. On Oct. 18, Sullivan was at Tech to speak on what the Foreign Service has to offer and recruit those interested.

“You want those who might have that interest to have a spark go off, and I think that is what Ambassador Sullivan did for a few people,” Giovana Giarelli, president of Phi Alpha Theta, a history honors society, and a graduate student of history, said. “They had it in the back of their mind, and he helped to bring it forward.”

Giarelli said there was a good turnout for the event.

“Interests were up; not many people know about the Foreign Service so it was a good way to get more people involved,” Giarelli said. 

Sullivan said he visited Tech last spring to encourage students to take the Foreign Service exam, which is free and offered in April.

“We are seeking to become more diverse,” he said. “[I am at Tech] to promote geographic and ethnic diversity.” 

Sullivan said he served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Angola and U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe.

A major part of a Foreign Service employee is understanding the culture and surroundings they are in and knowing what solutions can work and what cannot, he said.

“It is a tremendous advantage to understand the people of where you are and understanding their culture,” he said.

Sullivan said although Zimbabwe has a talented and educated population, “civil rights, domestic rights and human rights were being abused.”

He said there were many areas to be dealt with in a Foreign Service job. Some he touched on were politics, humanities, economics and education.

“There are a lot of skills involved here; many of them are human skills,” said Sullivan.

Madeline Moore, vice president for Phi Alpha Theta and a graduate student of history, said Sullivan focused on jobs in the Foreign Service for graduates and also internships and programs for students.

“Last year he did not talk as much about the student programs [like he did this year], and I think they are important for people at Tech,” Moore said.

Moore said she thought the event went really well and there was a really good number to hear Sullivan.

She said, “I think he gives a good impression of what life in the Foreign Service is like.”