May. 13, 2015
Elvia Valle thought Foreign Service might not be in her future.
Valle, a McNair Scholar who graduated from St. Edward’s in 2013 with a degree in Global Studies, applied for the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship last year and was rejected.
But Caroline Morris, director of Fellowships at St. Edward’s, and Valle's fiancé encouraged her to apply again.
The 25-year-old was accepted in May and is among 30 students who were chosen by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation as a 2015 Pickering Fellow.
“Being chosen not only means that I will receive much-needed financial support for my master’s degree, but it also means that I am deemed worthy of representing the United States abroad — a responsibility that I humbly and willingly accept,” Valle said.
Valle said her positive experiences as a Fulbright research grant recipient at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, Austria, prepared her to address global challenges.
In the post-graduate training course, Valle practices international relations and studies French and German.
“My experiences abroad and my studies have highlighted how much the U.S. can learn from Europe in terms of intergovernmental communication,” Valle said. “They have underscored the importance of robust cross-cultural conversations and their role in harmonizing otherwise conflicting state aspirations.”
Valle will study at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., in the fall, where she has been accepted to the German and European Studies Program in the School of Foreign Service.
Valle said after her fellowship she will work in Foreign Service.