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OSU junior receives State Department fellowship |
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Wednesday, 06 June 2007 |
 OSU junior Kyle Ensley was recently awarded the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship. The fellowship is granted to only 20 college students in the nation and will finance the rest of his undergraduate studies and two years of graduate school plus a guaranteed four-year position as a foreign service officer with the State Department after he finishes graduate school.
“I’m so excited,” said Ensley. “The fellowship is typically awarded to students from Ivy League schools like Harvard, Yale and Princeton, and I am blessed to have been selected and represent Oklahoma State University.”
The Pickering Fellowship is awarded to talented students from across the nation pursuing studies in international affairs-related fields.
Ensley will report for an orientation in Washington, D.C. this month; then next summer will start one of two internships for the State Department and attend a public policy institute. The fellowship will pay for his final two years of undergraduate studies plus two years of graduate school. It will also guarantee Ensley a four-year position as a Foreign Service officer with the State Department after he finishes graduate school.
Ensley says he hopes to attend Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and work in the management career track of the Foreign Service.
“I’d like to work in South America, maybe Columbia, working with immigration and drug-trafficking policies,” he said.
The Foreign Service is a corps of working professionals who help the President of the United States and Secretary of State pursue their goals and objectives for American foreign policy. Officers often staff U.S. embassies, consulates and missions worldwide and also serve in Washington, D.C. Their responsibilities can include policy analysis, resource management, public diplomacy, providing services to Americans in need, promoting trade and business facilitation and representing U.S. interests abroad.
Ensley, 21, says his interest in the foreign relations began in the eighth grade when he traveled to Germany and visited the U.S. consulate in Munich. Since, he says his fascination for learning about other cultures and languages, as well as the role of policy in international relations, has grown.
“I enjoy learning about people. Representing American’s interests abroad and visiting cultures around the world will be very fulfilling,” he said.
Ensley actively participates in OSU’s Student Government Association, serving as the President’s External Chief of Staff and other leadership positions. He also volunteers extensively in the Stillwater community, lending his time to activities and non-profits including Mission of Hope, a service aiding homeless shelters, and the Red Cross. Dr. Lee Bird, vice president for Student Affairs who has employed Ensley for two semesters, says he is incredibly bright, determined and driven.
“This fellowship is right up Kyle’s alley, given his interest in foreign business and politics,” she said. “He has taken every opportunity to get involved in everything OSU has to offer and really knows how to make a difference in his community.”
Ensley is the second student from OSU and the state of Oklahoma ever selected to receive the fellowship. He attributes much of his success to Jules Emig, his honors composition II professor, and Bob Graalman with the OSU Office of Scholar Development for ongoing encouragement and guidance in the application process.
The opportunity is a dream come true, he says.
“A career in the Foreign Service is something I’ve always dreamed about, and now I have all the resources to make my dream a reality.”
Ensley is a native of Valliant, Okla., and a 2005 graduate of Wright City High School. He is the son of Wendell and Rhonda Ensley. |
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