Boren Awards Conference - Washington D.C.
- vivianojane
- Jun 8, 2016
- 3 min read
Can't say I wasn't nervous about this in the beginning. Turned out to be an awesome experience, one where I met other students like me, learned about jobs within the government, and tried Korean Bibimbap for the first time!
Highlights:
I was slightly nervous about meeting the other Boren Scholars and Fellows, but when I walked in the door of the hotel there were dozens of us waiting, some had been there for hours, to receive room keys. The first person I saw as I walked in was the other Boren Scholar to Oman who I had chatted with on Facebook. We recognised each other immediately!
My roommate was going to Senegal to learn Wolof and was heading to the University of Florida that summer for Wolof language classes!
Dr. Arthur Bell, a former Boren Fellow to Morocco in 2000, had his eyes set on earning a PhD from Cornell and teaching for the rest of his life. As our keynote speaker on Day 1, he told us how Boren had set his career path with the Foreign Service, living in places like Saudi Arabia. A fellow UMass Boren literally, had him by the arm, pulling him to our lunch table, offering a seat. Other flocked to the table and within a minute it was full. There was me, my Oman-bound friend, and the my two other UMass Boren friends, next to Arthur Bell for lunch.
NSA & FBI: Review of Game of Pawns, Cybersecurity Issues and the Federal Security Clearance Process. The best presentation by the first FBI official I had ever seen. He mentioned his daughter who was going to "University A." He then asked who went there in the room- a handful whooped and raised their hands. He then don't all of them to "PUT YOUR HANDS DOWN! YOU ALL ARE COSTING YOUR PARENTS A FORTUNE!" Millions of laughs later he went on to politely and comically tell us not to accept any payment from a foreign government. I certainly felt bad for the FBI officer, and almost felt bad for the dozens of concerned hands that were raised asking questions like, "What if I don't know if a foreign government is approaching me?" "What do I do if they ask me questions?" "What do I do if they bang down my apartment door demanding answers?"
Meeting students from UW, Pamona, Virginia Commonwealth, Georgia State, DePauw, Ohio State, Alabama at Birmingham, Georgetown, Florida International, University of Vermont, Rensselaer Polytechnic, Western Kentucky, Texan A&M, Colorado, Indiana, and Tulane, going to India, UAE, Belarus, China, Japan, Turkey, Jordan, Kazakstan, and Senegal. In groups we ate Steak & Shake the first night, found Bubble Tea in Chinatown, and went to Dupont to find Bibimbap and gelato the next night!
Meeting a former Oman Boren instead of Marco Rubio. We were suppose to go to congressional meetings with two of our congressmen and senator. My sheet of paper noted that, like most people, I would be meeting with staffers instead of the congressmen and senator themselves. But when I met the former Oman Boren, I couldn't help but learn more about this new country instead of going to those meetings. So (Sorry, Boren) I ditched two of my meetings. There would only be staffers though, right? Well, Marco Rubio decided to pay a surprise visit to the senate meeting. And I ended up not going to Oman in the end. But, a great conversation with the former Oman Boren was well worth missing a meeting with Marco Rubio. No offence at all, Mr. Rubio.
An incredibly insightful panel of former Boren Scholars and Fellows. Location and dates included Vietnam 2006, Vietnam 2001, Thailand 2005, and Syria 2008. (Did you see any Europe?) These highly successful people explain thinking their were going to end up on one career path but then ended up working for the Department of State, NASA, Department of Treasury, and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
On the end of the last day I walked from the Capital to the Washington Monument, rain hanging heavy in the sky, tourists and languages here and there, the Smithsonian building looking gallant as ever. I got a few worthwhile blister and couldn't find any good food, but it was a nice time to reflect on my initial feelings of nervousness about the weekend. I sat on a pillar staring at the Washington Monument thinking about what all of this was all for in the end: I was going on another adventure, another best and worst year of my life. And it ended up not being Oman in the end, but hey! It's about the journey and not the destination.
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