ATLANTA—Joshua Fife, an alumnus of Georgia State University who graduated in 2019 with a degree in journalism, has received the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship.
Funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University, the fellowship program will provide him with financial support for graduate school, mentoring and professional development to prepare him for a career in the U.S. Foreign Service.
“Being selected for the Pickering Fellowship is truly a dream come true,” said Fife, a native Atlantan. “The financial burdens of graduate school make it unattainable for so many people like me, so this fellowship is the opportunity of a lifetime. It brings much-needed diversity into our nation’s diplomatic corps, and I’m honored to be able to represent my community on the global stage.”
This fall, Fife will begin his graduate school studies in urban and social policy, focusing on education and health communication. He also will complete two internships with the State Department—one in Washington, D.C. and the other overseas—in the summer between his first and second year of graduate school and the summer after he finishes.
“I’m excited to share the wide range of cultures that we have here in the U.S. with nations that otherwise might not know it existed,” he said. “It’s very common for minorities and women in the Foreign Service to encounter surprise and even discrimination in other countries due to the predominant image of diplomats in the United States being white and male.”
Lily Lopez-McGee, director of the fellowship program, said Fife was an ideal fellowship candidate because he demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, leadership and commitment to service during his time at Georgia State.
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- Kathleen Joyner, Director of Communications, Honors College