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 Kenneth Janda, Payson S. Wild Professor of Political Science, is one of several Northwestern faculty who have instilled the desire in students to pursue careers in the Foreign Service and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Photo by Kris Resellmo |
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Influences and Inspirations
Many alumni point to their experience at Northwestern as one of the steppingstones on their path to a career in the U.S. Foreign Service or with the U.S. Agency for International Development. They remember not only how they were challenged by the intellectual environment but how they were influenced by individual professors as well. "I think one of the most important skills that I learned was the ability to effectively communicate complex and sensitive issues," says Glenn Pearce-Oroz (WCAS91), a USAID urban and municipal development officer in Honduras. "I’ve been part of countless situations where the technical solution is readily agreed upon, but the deal falls through because of the inability of people to communicate effectively with each other." Karen Turner (WCAS77), deputy assistant administrator in the USAID’s Bureau for Asia and the Near East, puts political science professor Jerry Goldman at the top of her list of academic influences. "By the way he taught his classes, [he] provoked me and others to think about issues and information, not just to accept information," she says. For Steven Rice (G90), a political-military affairs officer on Israeli and Palestinian affairs at the U.S. State Department, the Middle East survey course taught by the late political scientist Ibrahim Abu-Lughod was pivotal. "He challenged my thinking in a number of areas, and I emerged from the course better informed about, and more interested in, the region." Kenneth Janda, Payson S. Wild Professor of Political Science, played a crucial role in Jonathan Addleton’s chosen career. "This was my first class in American politics," says Addleton (J79), now USAID mission director in Mongolia. "It is hard to begin to understand other countries unless you first have some sense of your own." On a personal level as well, Janda made an impact. "When I became quite sick at the end of freshman year, [Janda] visited me at Evanston Hospital, giving me my test there," Addleton relates. "That is something I will never forget." But the class that was the most fun for Addleton was taught by anthropology professor Joseph Berland, who had done research on the children of nomads in Pakistan. "Perhaps my subsequent adoption of a largely nomadic lifestyle has something to do with his influence," he jokes. Both Ian Kelly (G79), press attache at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, and David Kostelancik (WCAS86), deputy counselor at the U.S. mission to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, pick Irwin Weil, professor of Slavic languages and literatures, as an unforgettable influence. "His Dostoesvsky course was nothing short of thrilling," Kelly says. "He made the material come alive." Kostelancik took Weil’s Introduction to the USSR and Its Successor States. "Irv’s enthusiasm, gift of engendering respect for Russian culture and his ability to get one to think about life and politics from the Russian perspective have been invaluable to me in my career," Kostelancik says. Last spring Phyllis Oakley (WCAS56) taught Current Problems in American Foreign Policy. Oakley, who retired in 1999 from her post as assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research at the State Department, brought the perspective gained from her own experience to such topics as terrorism, humanitarian intervention, human rights, migration, worldwide AIDS and the environment. Based on her time in Evanston, Oakley has come to feel that students today have a growing interest in pursuing careers in the Foreign Service or with the Agency for International Development. "During the ’80s and the ’90s young people wanted to go into business school or law school and get in on the dot-com bubble," she explains. But after Sept. 11, "young people realized that work in the Foreign Service or on foreign policy for greater peace and understanding among nations is a noble and worthwhile cause." - N.D.M. Return to Cover Story |