University of Virginia issued the following announcement on Jan. 13
The Houston native, a 2019 University of Virginia graduate, is UVA’s latest recipient of the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship. The Rangel Fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of State, is administered by Howard University and supports those who want to pursue a career in the foreign service of the U.S. Department of State.
The fellowship supports a two-year master’s degree in an area approved by the State Department. It also provides internships, mentors and skills training, including a foreign affairs-related internship with a member of Congress this summer. In the summer of 2023, the State Department will send fellows overseas to intern in a U.S. embassy or consulate, and after completing the program in 2024, they will become diplomats.
Mengesha, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in foreign affairs with a minor in Middle Eastern studies, has applied to a variety of graduate programs focused on public policy.
Mengesha said she has long had an interest in international affairs.
“As a junior in high school, I was accepted in the Mickey Leland Kibbutzim Internship, which allowed me to travel to Israel and practice diplomacy,” she said. “Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) reminded us about the history of diplomacy in Congress and about the work that Rep. George “Mickey” Leland (D-Texas) did around the world and in Israel. This internship opened my eyes to a career in public service and diplomacy.”
She was president of the Model United Nations in Carnegie Vanguard High School in Houston.
“I spoke three languages at the time, including Bulgarian, English and Spanish,” Mengesha said. “After my internship in Israel, I was even more curious about policy in the Middle East and brushing up on my Hebrew and Arabic. Even though I tested out of my language requirements at UVA, I knew I wanted to learn Arabic, so I did.”
Mengesha studied abroad in Jordan, where she familiarized herself with the geopolitics of the region while practicing Arabic.
“I would absolutely love to be posted in the Middle East and practice more of my Arabic,” Mengesha said. “Additionally, the Mickey Leland Kibbutzim internship and my conversations with Rep. Lee also led me to pursue a Congressional internship on Capitol Hill my third year of college. Interning in Congress through the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation refocused public service and policy tracking for me.”
As an emerging leader for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, she interned in the office of U.S. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas).
As a high school senior, Mengesha received a scholarship from the Posse Foundation, which identifies and trains young people with potential, places scholars in multicultural groups of 10 students at partner colleges and provides them with mentoring and scholarships. This was an important juncture for her, she said.
Original source can be found here.
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