The State Department recently selected 15 undergraduate students for this year’s Diplomatic Information Technology Fellowships. The recipients will receive scholarships and ultimately be assigned to positions at the State Department. Joining Tom Temin on Federal Drive is one of the new members, Astrid Tagne from the University of Maryland. But first, we spoke with Orienta Huger, an IT recruiter for the State Department, about the background to the fellowship program.
Tom Temin: So let’s start with some background. Tell us more about FAIT’s FAIT program. This is something that happens every year, what is its purpose?
Orienta Huger Yes. The Diplomatic IT Fellowship has been running since 2017. It is a merit and need-based program that aims to attract and prepare talented students and professionals for their careers. They will apply their technical, tech skills in support of the diplomatic business. They will become diplomatic technology officers for the State Department. We offer undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to qualify for this scholarship. You must be a U.S. citizen and be enrolled or intend to be enrolled in a full-time IT-related degree program at an accredited institution based in the U.S. The timeline for the scholarship is that undergraduate students should apply in their second year and graduate students should be seeking enrollment in a full-time IT-related master’s program. And another requirement is that you have a minimum GPA of 3.2 on a four-point scale at the time of application. At the end of this fellowship program, students are obligated to serve five years in the diplomatic service to serve abroad. This is the service commitment that students make during the fellowship period. The fellowship will provide up to $43,500 per year for two years for tuition, room and board, books, miscellaneous expenses and travel. Students will also receive housing and travel allowances. Students will have one domestic and one international internship, as well as opportunities for mentoring and professional development.
Tom Temin: Okay. So what do they typically do when they’re overseas? You know, the State Department CIO function is somewhat centralized. But we have about 100 locations around the world, and part of that is diplomatic knowledge. And then also the knowledge that you need to know about information technology, programming, applications, cloud computing.
Orienta Huger: Yeah, as you know, my main job is working in the IT field. My job overseas is a position called a Foreign Service Technical Officer. That means I’m responsible for all the IT operations overseas at a U.S. embassy or consulate. IT project management, data analysis, systems administration, network administration, etc. Those are the general core functions of the job. I don’t necessarily do direct diplomacy, like talking to foreign government ministries, but I support the diplomatic activities of all my colleagues who are working overseas. So I need a general knowledge of diplomacy, how to behave, because you’re a representative of the U.S. government overseas. So Orienta Huger is an IT recruiter for the State Department. Now let’s turn to Astrid Tagne, who is a member of this year’s cohort and one of our students. So Astrid, please introduce yourself. You’re a first generation American, where are you from? And what are your hopes here?
Astrid Tagne I’m from Cameroon. I came here at the end of 2014, so I was supposed to be in my fifth year, but I only studied for a couple of months in my fifth year. Being from Cameroon, I didn’t speak English. So I had to learn English through my work. So that I could be here now. But to be honest, what I really want to do with this program is long-term. I want to get involved in diplomacy. Because one of the things that really struck me when I applied, and that I specifically mentioned in my interview with the FAIT Fellows, is that I want to see how technology is implemented in other countries. And I don’t think there’s a better way for me to do that than to be a DTO for the federal government.
Tom Temin: Well, actually, working overseas gives you the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of people because many of the people who work in IT and other foreign affairs functions are local nationals of the country where the State Department is located. I imagine that’s appealing to you.
Astrid Tagne: That’s really fascinating. What I really value is growing up among people with a cultural background and maintaining that cultural background. But I also love connecting with people. I love connecting with people. And one of the things that was definitely striking for me about this program was being able to go abroad. You get to interact with different cultures. What money can’t buy is the experience of learning other people’s cultures and bringing that back with you. And teaching them something about another culture. I think that’s really amazing.
Tom Temin Your English is really impressive, considering you weren’t born with it, and I hear you speak a few other languages pretty well too.
Astrid Tagne Yes, I speak French and I also speak Spanish.
Tom Temin: It seems like you can memorize anything, so who knows where you’ll be placed. It could be somewhere with a non-Latin alphabet, which would present a whole other set of challenges.
Astrid Tagne I love a challenge, it’s perfect.
Tom Temin: From what you’ve said about weightlifting and sewing, it sounds like you have a lot of other hobbies.
Astrid Tagne: I started weightlifting in my senior year of high school, right after COVID started. I had a friend and we were really into weightlifting. So we started a weightlifting club in high school. It was like a girls’ weightlifting club. I still do it, and it’s also a way to connect people. I think when you go out somewhere, if you have something that interests you, it’s a great way to meet people. So for me, I’m a natural connector, I’ve always had hobbies, because through my hobbies I can meet people and connect with them. And it adds to who I am as a person. Weightlifting helps me maintain a community in that particular aspect. I also have a big interest in sewing, and I don’t know how the two are connected, but for me, the connection is just people. That’s how I was able to maintain who I am as a person and also the people that I gather around me.
Tom Temin Is there a particular area of information technology that interests you most?
Astrid Tagne: Speaking of information technology, I want to start by telling you how I got into information technology. I got into information technology in the summer of 2021. I never took a computer science class in high school. But other than that, I was never interested in technology. So technology was really last on my list of what I wanted to do in high school. At the time, I wanted to be a doctor or a nurse or something like that. But data is so fast. And then through a forum called Passion for Learning, a non-profit organization, I was able to get a scholarship to go to a week-long camp called Tech Squad with MS gene. In that program, I learned technology, I coded in C++, I built mini robots, I built cars. And I knew I wanted to do this profession full time. Then I researched more about what it would mean to choose technology as a field. So I knew this is definitely something I wanted to do. But I had to look for something like VR to relate it to me. So it reminded me of when I first came to the United States. In Cameroon, the lights never go out, they go out every night. We never really slept in the light. We had to use oil lamps as a light source. And the first time I went to school, it was about a month after I got here. Every student was assigned a Chromebook. And I was like, I’ve never used a computer in my life. I found out something that was so shocking. The fact that students could have a Chromebook. Of course, they couldn’t take it home. But even though we only had one computer in the whole school in Cameroon, we still had the opportunity to use it at school. And then my direct relationship with technology was that I wanted to adopt technology for the future and fill the technology gap in other developing countries. That’s why I continue to do it. When I go to the store, I want to see how other cultures adopt technology because I know that the way Americans adopt technology works well here. That’s why I want to go back to these countries and give back because it’s worked well for us and I want it to work for other people too. That’s the long-term goal.
Tom Temin: Okay. Well, somehow I think the State Department is going to get a good return on their investment in you. Astrid Tagne is a student at the University of Maryland and a recipient of the Diplomacy Information Technology Fellowship. Thanks for watching.
Thank you Astrid Tagne.
Tom Temin. And we’re also hearing from Orienta Hughes. She’s an IT recruiter for the State Department. Thanks for joining us.
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