Lipscomb alumna steps from Fulbright Scholar to U. S. Diplomat
Chris Pepple |
The job description seems fitting for an Academy Award-winning thriller: stressful and highly demanding overseas work with moves every two to four years and exposure to threats such as disease and war. Yet Lipscomb alumna Emily Royse Green (’06), former Fulbright Scholar, signed on to live out this role through the Foreign Service as the next step in her already exciting journey. Green has been admitted to the U.S Foreign Service, traveling this summer to her first posting in Tel Aviv, Israel.
| Emily Royse Green ('06) with husband, David Green ('06) |
As a Foreign Service Officer, Green will assist in the State Department goals of strengthening international peace and supporting prosperity worldwide, while also serving the needs of American citizens throughout the world. Foreign Service Officers are posted at any one of over 265 embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions grouped in six geographic regions: The Americas, Africa, Europe and Eurasia, East Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa, and South and Central Asia. Green chose the public diplomacy career path within the organization.
“This is an exciting opportunity for me,” said Green. “I love learning about new cultures. I’ve never been to the Middle East before, but there’s so much history there. The experience will be both challenging and rewarding. I look forward to meeting new people and seeing a way of life that I have only read about. It’s also rewarding to get to teach others about the United States. There is a security risk involved, but you assess that before going in. We have great security overall. You and your family are totally prepared before you take your first assignment.”
To be considered for the position, Green first took the Foreign Service written exam and completed a series of essays designed to be a personal narrative of her life. After successfully completing the test and essays, Green received her invitation to the Foreign Service oral exam in Washington, D.C.
“The oral exam consists of a series of interviews that determine if you qualify for an opening in the next officer training class,” said Green. “This is an all-day assessment. I was there for 12 hours. But you do find out at the end of the day if you have passed this phase of the process. I was thrilled to join a class of 90 people with whom I will work throughout my career.”
Of the close to 15,000 people who register annually to take the Foreign Service written exam, only about 450 officers are hired, according to U.S. Department of State records. All newly hired officers are trained at the Foreign Service Institute just outside Washington, D.C. Green, like all officers, will begin her career working in the consular section, interviewing applicants for visas and working with American citizens who need assistance. After a year, she will rotate into a position in the Embassy press office.
As a senior at Lipscomb University, Green, an English and German major, accepted a Fulbright scholarship to teach English part-time at an Austrian high school and attend classes at the University of Vienna after graduation. She helped fulfill Senator William Fulbright’s goal of uniting people of different nationalities to bring about lasting peace and friendships around the world. Before leaving for Austria, Green applied to Georgetown’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service where she returned to earn her master’s degree in German and European Studies.