Amy Radetsky, a senior foreign service officer, was assigned the diplomat in residence at Florida A&M University by the Department of State. Radetsky has teamed up with the Career Center on campus to provide numerous opportunities for students who are interested in foreign and civil service careers.
Diplomat in Residence Amy Radetsky has been with the Department of State for 20 years.
“I have 15 different colleagues at different universities,” Radetsky said. “Our jobs are to recruit students, and talk to them about international affairs and hope they will consider a career in this field.”
Radetsky’s position allows her to travel at least a couple of times a week. She has served in many different countries as well.
“As part of my foreign service career, I’ve spent most of my career in Latin America,” Radetsky said. “Most previously I served in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and previously my career had gone to Sao Pablo as well, but sometimes it’s just day trips.”
Radetsky explained that at least once throughout the semester, she travels to Gainesville, Alabama, Valdosta and Pensacola. She said that sometimes she makes those trips more than once.
A diplomat in residence essentially recruits students, educates them on international affairs, and get them interested in the field. They offer opportunities for every major, from journalism to psychology. Opportunities include internships, paid fellowships, and careers both overseas and domestic.
Radetsky works with the Career Center in providing multiple information sessions, career fairs, and guest lectures so she can interact with students and get opportunities out to them as soon as possible.
Christopher Anderson, the internship coordinator at the Career Center is in charge of getting these opportunities out to students and organizing different info sessions.
“For internships and career assistance students should definitely visit the career center. We have a great database called “Hire a Rattler”, it has almost 6,000 jobs and internships,” Anderson said.
“You can search by location, job function, major, or even by company. Not only are we connected to the Department of State, but other governor entities and corporations throughout the world as well.”
La’Shay Jerelds, a senior child psychology major was excited to hear the different opportunities that are offered right here on campus.
“I had no idea that I had access to all the opportunities on campus, especially from the Department of State,” Jerelds said. “I never actually thought about working in another country because I didn’t know it was offered for my major. Now that I have a bit more knowledge on the different jobs I could get from campus, I’m definitely thinking about traveling for my career.”
Radetsky provided additional advice for students interested in her career field.
“One of the top things I encourage students to work on is writing skills,” Radetsky said. “When we get candidates, they tend to struggle and don’t make it all the way through the process because they lack writing skills.”
She finished by encouraging students to work on their writing, read and stay informed.
For more information regarding opportunities with the Department of State visit www.careers.state.gov and contact Amy Radetsky at Radetskyas@state.gov or 850-599-3295.
Radetsky is located in the School of Business and Industry, room 430.