On November 19, Maya Rosales, was awarded a 2022 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship following a highly competitive nationwide contest. The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of State and managed by the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University, supports extraordinary individuals who want to pursue a career in the U.S. Foreign Service. The Director of the Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship Program, Lily Lopez-Mcgee Ph.D., stated, “We are truly thrilled and excited that Maya will be joining the Pickering Fellowship Program. She demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, leadership and commitment to service during her time at University of California-Berkeley. These experiences bode well for her success through graduate school and in the Foreign Service as well. I look forward to seeing all that she will accomplish in her career.”
Maya is originally from Northern California where her diverse community fostered her keen interest in and understanding of foreign policy. She is a proud first-generation, low-income graduate of UC Berkeley; during undergrad, Maya participated in the Department of State’s diversity pipeline Foreign Service Internship Program, published research on U.S. foreign policy in Latin America and the Caribbean, and interned for then-senator, Kamala Harris. Her single mother’s immigrant background likewise inspired her work with non-profit immigration law firms and the UNHCR. Last summer Maya worked at the Council on Foreign Relations while studying the Mediterranean refugee crisis as a Gilman Scholar. Now, as a Brent Scowcroft Award Fellow at the Aspen Institute, Maya plans and executes high-level discussions on foreign policy challenges, with today’s preeminent politicians, leaders, and thinkers. As a Pickering Fellow, she looks forward to grad school and serving her country as a diplomat while representing marginalized identities like her own.
The Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship will support Maya through a two-year graduate program to receive a master’s degree in an area relevant to the conduct of U.S. foreign policy. It will also provide extensive professional development opportunities, including internships, mentors, and skills training. As part of the Pickering Program, Maya will have an internship based in Washington, D.C. working with the U.S. Department of State in summer 2023. In the summer of 2024, the U.S. Department of State will send her overseas to work and to gain hands-on experience with U.S. foreign policy and the work of the Foreign Service. Upon graduation, Maya will become a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, embarking on one of the most challenging and rewarding careers of service to her country. She will work to promote peace and prosperity around the world.
More information can be found online at https://pickeringfellowship.org.
By: Lily Lopez-Mcgee, Ph.D., Fellowship Director, lily.lopezmcgee@howard.edu