Armed with a 4.0 GPA and international work experience, took steps to make herself competitive for a position in the U.S. Foreign Service, but with the current hiring freeze in the State Department, this goal seemed impossible – until now. Fleming recently received a Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship, which will provide her the opportunity to work with the State Department’s Foreign Service.

Fleming recently received a Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship, which will provide her the opportunity to work with the State Department’s Foreign Service.

This highly competitive fellowship provides academic funding up to $75,000 for its recipients for tuition, housing and books during a two-year master’s degree program focused on a field related to the Foreign Service. During the summer months between academic years, fellows also participate in two State Department internship programs, one in the United States and one abroad. After graduate school, fellows complete a minimum five-year service commitment in the Foreign Service.

Discovering a Love of Diplomacy 

Fleming said her inspiration to begin this journey started at �鶹ӳ����ý. Her honors diplomacy course with Ambassador Harriet Elam-Thomas sparked her interest in public diplomacy and the Foreign Service. Elam-Thomas was the U.S. ambassador to Senegal from 2000-2002.

“In the ambassador’s class, I learned about the value of creating mutual understanding between people from different countries through international exchange programs,” Fleming says.

“In the ambassador’s class, I learned about the value of creating mutual understanding between people from different countries through international exchange programs,” Fleming says. “I later had the opportunity to work on public-diplomacy initiatives through internships at the World Affairs Council of Central Florida and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.”

After graduation, Fleming felt she needed to gain international work experience. She had earned a Teaching English as a Foreign Language certificate at �鶹ӳ����ý, so she spent five months teaching English in Thailand before she was awarded a Fulbright English teaching assistantship. From there, she spent 10 months teaching English in Vietnam.

“Living in Vietnam was a life-changing experience because I had the opportunity to really immerse myself in the country’s vibrant culture,” says Fleming. “My students were wonderful, and I deeply cherish the memories and relationships that I made there. The experience solidified my resolve to pursue a career bridging cultures.”

Providing a Global Perspective

Fleming works in the at �鶹ӳ����ý. As the senior program assistant, she helps run programs that sharpen �鶹ӳ����ý’s international focus.

Fleming submitted her application for the Pickering fellowship in January 2017. She was selected as one of the 60 finalists, and completed a final interview and writing assessment through Skype while she was teaching in Vietnam.

In February, Fleming was informed that a spot had opened up and she was offered the opportunity to be a Pickering fellow. Now, she is preparing to start her journey with the State Department.

She has been accepted to two master’s programs, and her first hurdle will be deciding to attend either the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver or the School of International Service at American University. Once she finishes her graduate education, she will start her five-year service commitment in the Foreign Service.

Excited for the possibilities for service, Fleming is also grateful for the role that �鶹ӳ����ý has played in her journey.

“I would not be in this position today without the help and support of my mentors at �鶹ӳ����ý,” says Fleming. “The Global Perspectives Office and the Office of Prestigious Awards have been instrumental in helping me to achieve my goals, even as an alumna. These two offices teamed together last spring to help me prepare for the Pickering interview, and I am so grateful for their guidance.”

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Henderson is the daughter of the late Rev. Oliver Brown, named in the court case, Brown v. Board of Education, which deemed school segregation unconstitutional. Kennedy is the daughter of the late former governor of Alabama, George C. Wallace, who infamously tried to block desegregation in Alabama’s schools, in contrast to her own views. Both women welcome the opportunity to present together.

The event is the first in a series at �鶹ӳ����ý that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. Ambassador Harriet Elam-Thomas, �鶹ӳ����ý’s Diplomacy Program director, will moderate the forum, and vice president of �鶹ӳ����ý’s Student Government Association, Sydney Altfield, will provide opening remarks.

The forum, which is free and open to the public, will be 3 p.m. in the Cape Florida Ballroom of the Student Union. For more information, visit .

This event is a feature of the 20th anniversary celebration of the Women’s Studies Program at �鶹ӳ����ý, which includes a week of campus and community .

Presentations will be given by international humanitarian Alison Thompson and two Fulbright foreign language teaching assistants, Bahia Braktia from Algeria and Ayumi Yamamoto from Japan. The forum will be moderated by Maria Cristina Santana, director of �鶹ӳ����ý’s Women’s Studies Program.

Thompson’s international volunteer work earned her the Order of Australia, the highest civilian medal awarded by Queen Elizabeth II of England. Her documentary film, The Third Wave, focuses on her experience volunteering in Sri Lanka after the 2004 tsunami. It premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival in New York and was shown at at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

Braktia and Yamamoto are teaching Arabic and Japanese, respectively, this year at �鶹ӳ����ý. Both host periodic cultural events that help students learn more about language and culture outside the United States.

In addition to the Global Perspectives Office, sponsors and partners of this forum include Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jay Garner, �鶹ӳ����ý Student Government Association, �鶹ӳ����ý Women’s Studies Program, �鶹ӳ����ý Women’s Research Center, �鶹ӳ����ý Burnett Honors College, Lawrence J. Chastang and the Chastang Foundation, �鶹ӳ����ý Political Science Department, �鶹ӳ����ý LIFE, �鶹ӳ����ý Book Festival 2013 in Association with the Morgridge International Reading Center and the Global Connections Foundation.

Vajpeyi will give a presentation entitled “India: Old Words, New World” at 3 p.m. in the Cape Florida Ballroom of the Student Union. The event, organized by the �鶹ӳ����ý Global Perspectives Office, is part of the 2012-2013 theme of “The Changing Face of Freedom in Today’s Turbulent Times.” It is free and open to the public, and is also a featured event of The India Center at �鶹ӳ����ý.

Vajpeyi is a visiting fellow with the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi, and a senior fellow with the American Institute of Indian Studies. She was born in New Delhi and raised there and in Mexico City. She was educated at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, at Oxford University in England, where she read as a Rhodes Scholar, and at the University of Chicago, where she earned her doctorate in South Asian languages and civilizations.

Her book, “Righteous Republic: The Political Foundations of Modern India,” will be released this fall.

In addition to the Global Perspectives Office, sponsors and partners include The India Center at �鶹ӳ����ý, The India Group, Anil and Chitra Deshpande India Program Endowed Fund, �鶹ӳ����ý Diplomacy Program, Lawrence J. Chastang and the Chastang Foundation, CliftonLarsonAllen, Orlando Area Committee on Foreign Relations, �鶹ӳ����ý International Services Center, �鶹ӳ����ý Political Science Department, �鶹ӳ����ý Women’s Studies Program, �鶹ӳ����ý Women’s Research Center, �鶹ӳ����ý LIFE, �鶹ӳ����ý Book Festival 2013 in association with the Morgridge International Reading Center and the Global Connections Foundation.

The India Center at �鶹ӳ����ý, whose creation was announced earlier this year, along with the �鶹ӳ����ý Global Perspectives Office, hosted the visiting dignitary. During his stay, Kalam addressed more than 700 students, faculty, staff and members of the community at �鶹ӳ����ý. All of his presentation materials are available through the Speeches/Lectures section of his website.

Kalam opened his visit to �鶹ӳ����ý on Sept. 27, with a classroom presentation titled “World Space Vision,” in which he suggested that harnessing solar energy from the sun could promote global energy independence for all countries, rich and poor alike. Kalam’s background is in aerospace engineering, which gives him special insight into the subject.

Later that same day, the former president met with a group from Sangam, the Indian student association at �鶹ӳ����ý, for a special lecture called the “Dynamics of Leadership.” He stressed the importance of competitiveness, creativity and integrity, concluding the presentation with the following advice: “Work with integrity, and succeed with integrity.”

The second and third days of �鶹ӳ����ý presentations on Sept. 28 and Oct. 1 focused on the themes of energy independence and sustainable development. Kalam stressed the importance of alternative and renewable sources of energy, such as solar power, electric and bio-fueled vehicles, and windmill technology, proposing that these steps could help lead to environmental restoration and eventual global peace.

On Tuesday, Kalam concluded his visit to �鶹ӳ����ý with a presentation entitled “World Without War: Is it Possible? World Vision 2030.” During the program opening, Pallavoor “Vaidy” Vaidyanathan, The India Center’s interim director, informed the audience that the former president’s talk on world peace appropriately was on the late Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday. The public forum, which was preceded by a musical performance by professor Nandkishor Muley and his students, drew an audience of about 450.

In his final �鶹ӳ����ý speech, Kalam called for the establishment of global enterprises to provide water, education, health care and energy for the world’s population, in an effort to promote peace. Arguing that wars arise from factors such as fear, greed and anger, Kalam stressed the importance of conquering these emotions, urging the audience not to “let the problem become your master, but rather become the master of the problem.”

When asked how to motivate the world population to avoid war, he answered: “Vision makes the nation. If there is righteousness in the heart, then peace will follow.”

In addition to The India Center and the Global Perspectives Office, sponsors and partners included The India Group, Anil and Chitra Deshpande India Program Endowed Fund, �鶹ӳ����ý Diplomacy Program, �鶹ӳ����ý Student Government Association, �鶹ӳ����ý International Services Center, �鶹ӳ����ý Political Science Department, �鶹ӳ����ý History Department, �鶹ӳ����ý LIFE, �鶹ӳ����ý Book Festival 2013 in association with the Morgridge International Reading Center and the Global Connections Foundation.

�鶹ӳ����ý is launching the new initiative in partnership with Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, a private university in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, that enrolls about 5,550 men and women.

The Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Program for Strategic Research and Studies at �鶹ӳ����ý will address four broad areas that are vital to both countries’ futures: governmental ties, security and regional stability, culture and the economy.

The initiative will include public presentations by distinguished scholars and practitioners, an annual forum on American-Saudi topics, student fellowships and research activities – all at �鶹ӳ����ý. Additionally, the collaboration with Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University may include the exchange of scholars and students. Details, including a start date, still need to be worked out.

Both universities share a commitment to scholarship, partnership, leadership and outreach, as well as a focus on the future.

“The people of the United States and Saudi Arabia have a vital stake in each other’s security and well-being,” said �鶹ӳ����ý President John C. Hitt, who recently led a �鶹ӳ����ý delegation to Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University.  “Our university family and members of the Central Florida community will benefit from new opportunities to learn about one of this nation’s most important partners and to better understand the common challenges that face both countries.” 

The partnership is the second major international undertaking at �鶹ӳ����ý this year. In January, �鶹ӳ����ý expanded an India program similar to the one planned about American-Saudi ties. No state or tuition dollars are being used for either initiative.

The Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Program for Strategic Research and Studies will be supported by a $1 million pledge from the Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University Annual Fund that will be paid over four years. The program will be operated by the university and led by a director whom �鶹ӳ����ý will hire. An advisory board will consist largely of �鶹ӳ����ý staff and faculty members with expertise in the four areas of focus.

John C. Bersia, special assistant to the president for Global Perspectives, has headed the effort to secure the program for more than two years. He noted that Americans and Saudis have critical connections that go back the better part of a century. “The two have shared interests ranging from natural resources to regional security, and the program will help enhance both sides’ understanding of these ties,” he said.  

The new initiative, like The India Center, will be part of the College of Sciences.

“This will open a very important part of the world to our students and faculty, in education and scholarship, in a way that would have been inconceivable without this program and its supporters,” said Michael Johnson, the college’s dean.

Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, which opened in 2008, is named after the governor of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Its system and academic program were designed by a Texas-based consortium of universities. The university offers programs in areas such as engineering, computer science and information technology, has an Executive MBA program and is planning a college of medicine. Many of the school’s courses are taught in English.

Scahill’s presentation, “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army,” attempted to untangle complex issues of U.S. military involvement abroad, the use of security forces that operate outside the law, and conflicting policy stances and outcomes. This combination of factors, he said, is particularly dangerous because it is bipartisan, rarely discussed in the news media and erodes U.S. credibility abroad.

The event, organized by the �鶹ӳ����ý Global Perspectives Office, occurred just after the ninth anniversary of the United States-led intervention in Iraq. It is also part of the 2011-2012 themes of “People Power, Politics and Global Change” and “Covering Global Crises from the Frontlines.”

Scahill’s talk drew upon his frequent foreign travel, most recently to Yemen, and his previous congressional testimonies. “The future of asymmetric warfare is in Yemen and Somalia,” he said as he criticized the lack of congressional oversight regarding increased United States reliance on targeted drone attacks around the world. He indicated that the most notable example would be the selective targeting of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen killed in Yemen in 2011.

Scahill’s main focus was what he called the lack of oversight as the United States transitions from conventional warfare to a murky world of clandestine operations. As he said these transitions progress, he is concerned about the “outsourcing” of United States military forces to private security companies such as Blackwater.

Despite some initial hope for policy change that accompanied the new Obama administration, Scahill drew upon several examples that he said depict the continuation or even expansion of controversial Bush administration policies.

Drawing upon Chalmers Johnson’s book, Blowback, Scahill suggested that the United States has not learned from recent history and is severely in danger of reaping unintended consequences from policies that often alienate other populations around the world. For example, he said, the practice of selective targeting and using private security firms undercuts the image of the United States as a supporter of freedom.

When asked why the news media are not more proactive in exposing this disconnect, Scahill blamed the short-term nature of both journalistic interest and the desires of the intended audience, which is obsessed with pop culture.

Responding to another question regarding student involvement, Scahill encouraged education both inside and outside the classroom. He further mentioned the importance of an open mind, adding that he has learned “infinitely more from those with an opposing world view” and urging audience members to listen to those with differing opinions.

In addition to the Global Perspectives Office, sponsors and partners include the �鶹ӳ����ý Global Peace and Security Studies Program, Sibille H. Pritchard Global Peace Fellowship Program, �鶹ӳ����ý Kurdish Political Studies Initiative, Lawrence J. Chastang and the Chastang Foundation, LarsonAllen LLP, �鶹ӳ����ý Nicholson School of Communication, �鶹ӳ����ý Diplomacy Program, �鶹ӳ����ý Middle Eastern Studies Program, �鶹ӳ����ý Book Festival 2012 in association with the Morgridge International Reading Center, �鶹ӳ����ý Political Science Department, �鶹ӳ����ý International Services Center, �鶹ӳ����ý LIFE and the Global Connections Foundation.

Rosenberg, author of “Join the Club: How Peer Pressure Can Transform the World,” will talk at 3 p.m. in the Garden Key Room of the Student Union. The event, organized by the �鶹ӳ����ý Global Perspectives Office, is part of the 2011-2012 themes of “People Power, Politics and Global Change” and “Covering Crises from the Frontlines.” It is free and open to the public.

In her book, Rosenberg argues that peer pressure has the potential to help enact social change, improve education and oust dictators.

In 1987, she received a MacArthur Fellowship, which she used to move to South America. Her experiences there helped her write her first book, “Children of Cain: Violence and the Violent in Latin America.” Later, she won the Pulitzer Prize for a book about the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, “The Haunted Land: Facing Europe’s Ghosts After Communism.” 

She currently writes “Fixes,” an online column on solutions to social problems for The New York Times.

In addition to the Global Perspectives Office, sponsors and partners include Lawrence J. Chastang and the Chastang Foundation, the Sibille H. Pritchard Global Peace Fellowship program, the �鶹ӳ����ý Global Peace and Security Studies Program, the �鶹ӳ����ý Nicholson School of Communication, �鶹ӳ����ý LIFE, the �鶹ӳ����ý Book Festival 2012 in association with the Morgridge International Reading Center, the �鶹ӳ����ý Political Science Department, the �鶹ӳ����ý International Services Center and the Global Connections Foundation.

Snyder is the author of “Fugitive Denim: A Moving Story of People and Pants in the Borderless World of Global Trade,” which was featured on public radio’s “This American Life” and “Marketplace.” It also won the 2006 Lowell Thomas Award from the Overseas Press Club.

Snyder’s work as a writer and commentator has taken her all over the world. In 1998, Snyder spent two months traveling through Tibet, India and Nepal, where she interviewed the Dalai Lama and charted the progress of one refugee family’s trek from Lhasa to Kathmandu to Dharamsala. Later that same year, Snyder traveled to Honduras to cover relief efforts after Hurricane Mitch.

In 2000, Snyder drove across Cuba watching the island’s social and economic revolution. At the same time, she began spots as an essayist on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” After 9/11, Snyder covered the war in Afghanistan and the future of Afghan women by spending her entire time camped out with the women held at the Kabul Jail for Women. She also covered Aceh, Indonesia in the weeks and months following a devastating tsunami.

In addition to the Global Perspectives Office, sponsors and partners include the Lawrence J. Chastang and the Chastang Foundation, the Orlando Area Committee on Foreign Relations, the Sibille H. Pritchard Global Peace Fellowship program, the �鶹ӳ����ý Global Peace and Security Studies Program, the �鶹ӳ����ý Nicholson School of Communication, �鶹ӳ����ý LIFE, the �鶹ӳ����ý Book Festival 2012 in association with the Morgridge International Reading Center, the �鶹ӳ����ý Political Science Department, the �鶹ӳ����ý International Services Center and the Global Connections Foundation.

Kastner will give a presentation entitled “Between Conflict and Peace: Contemporary Relations Across the Taiwan Strait” at 9 a.m. in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union. The topic is of particular timeliness in light of Taiwan’s closely contested presidential election Jan. 14.

The free event, organized by the �鶹ӳ����ý Global Perspectives Office, in cooperation with �鶹ӳ����ý LIFE, is part of the 2011-2012 themes of “People Power, Politics and Global Change.”

Kastner is the author of “Political Conflict and Economic Interdependence across the Taiwan Strait and Beyond.” He is an associate professor in the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, where he teaches courses on the international politics of East Asia, U.S.-China-Taiwan relations, and international relations theory and East Asia.

Previously, Kastner served as the China Security Fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University, and as a visiting research fellow in the Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program at Princeton University.

Kastner has written numerous peer-reviewed journal articles on China-Taiwan Cross-Strait relations in publications such as International Security, Security Studies, Journal of Conflict Resolution, and Journal of East Asian Studies.

In addition to the Global Perspectives Office and �鶹ӳ����ý LIFE, sponsors and partners include the �鶹ӳ����ý China-Taiwan Cross-Strait Program, C.T. Hsu and Associates, the �鶹ӳ����ý Political Science Department, The Chinese American Scholars & Professionals Association of Florida and the Global Connections Foundation.