Q&A With NAF Senior, Jalynn C., Who Reflects on Her Time with the Global Service and Diplomacy Academy at Theodore Roosevelt High School & Groundhog Job Shadow Day Experience on Capitol Hill

Question: Please feel free to introduce yourself 😊

Answer: My name is Jalynn C., and I am currently a senior at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Washington, DC, and I will be attending Wellesley College this summer. During my high school experience, I have explored many of my interests, which has led to me making great strides in my academic career. I was voted treasurer of the Student Body and president of Student Government my senior year. I was also voted to be secretary of the National Honor Society my junior year. Additionally, I was granted the AP Scholar award last year for passing all my AP classes.

Q: How has your NAF academy experience been so far?

A: My experience with the Global Service and Diplomacy Academy has been eye opening! Through the academy, I have been able to learn about the connectivity between all countries around the world. I have also been able to expand my cultural competency, by being given opportunities to travel abroad to France and Ecuador.

Last year, I was a part of the first cohort in Theodore Roosevelt High School to go abroad since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In partnership with Saint Dominique Academy in Pau, France, along with three other students, I was given the opportunity to experience a cultural exchange and learn more about student life in France. During my trip abroad, I had a host student (Florie) and went to school with her, met her friends, and spent time doing popular teenage activities, such as going to the mall. We got super close, and I still talk to her to this day. Besides having fun, I also learned more about history from the French perspective, more specifically about World War II. I got to go to the site of the D-Day invasion in Normandy and speak with the last veteran alive from that time. This experience helped me realize the importance of diplomacy in maintaining healthy dialogue and partnerships between countries to prevent global tragedies from happening.

Overall, my academy experience has granted me the ability to see the world from diverse perspectives and has taught me to appreciate the importance of maintaining diplomatic relationships to ensure the success of future generations.

Q: What first sparked your interest in public service?

A: My interest in public service was first sparked during the quarantine period of the pandemic. Before coming to high school, I had been interested in politics and saw myself pursuing a career in policy making. In my 9^th grade year, I joined the Global Service and Diplomacy Academy at my high school. My first class completely changed my perspective on life, and I was able to understand the global connectivity in the world. I learned about the philosophies that are the basis for different governments and how to form my opinion on them and critique them. It was different than any class I had previously experienced, and it made me feel like my opinion genuinely mattered. From then on, I knew that I wanted to learn more in depth about different governments. In my first year back in person, I was able to meet with various diplomats, who changed my perspective on what it meant to be a foreign service officer. I realized that you didn’t have to look a certain way and all that mattered was that you were helping people. From then on, I envisioned myself working in the State Department, helping facilitate a better understanding for people across the world.

Q: What previous work-based learning experiences have you participated in, that helped to prepare you for Groundhog Job Shadow Day?

A: Before my experience during Groundhog Job Shadow Day, I had two internships at the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University and at the Texas A&M Bush School in DC.

Q: What office did you shadow and what was your experience like?

A: I shadowed Representative Glenn Thompson’s office. I truly didn’t know what to expect, because I had no previous knowledge of what it was like to work in the House of Representatives.

I was able to experience both the informal and formal aspects of life on Capitol Hill, learning more about how it is structured and the differences between Committees and how different Members of Congress work together to create bills that will support their constituents. I enjoyed going to a meeting for the Committee of Agriculture to understand how they come up with the budgets on issues that affect Americans everywhere and how they determine what factors are most important. I also enjoyed seeing how Members of Congress prioritize specific issues that may affect their constituents, showing that they truly care about the people they are meant to represent.

Q: How has NAF Academy Director at Theodore Roosevelt High School, Mr. Hipkins, helped shape your high school experience?

A: Mr. Hipkins has shaped my high school experience by showing me the importance of having diverse experiences. His efforts have allowed me to have my first experience on a plane and outside of the country. Additionally, Mr. Hipkins encouraged me to apply for DCPS Study Abroad — granting me the opportunity to explore the culture and history of Ecuador. Thanks to Mr. Hipkins, I got to visit my first two countries in the same year. He has also connected me with many people who have worked as diplomats or worked in international relations in some other capacity. This has given me a lot of insight into potential career paths I can investigate, or even possibly intern with, during my college years.

Q: What are your future plans?

A: I am attending Wellesley College this fall and plan on studying International Relations. I want to pursue a career in working with women internationally and helping to uplift them, so that they can uncover greater opportunities.