Senior Economics and International Affairs student, Ayanda Francis, has been awarded the prestigious Thomas R. Pickering Undergraduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship. She is one of twenty undergraduate students chosen from throughout the country for their dedication, leadership, planning, cultural adaptability, and strong communication skills.

The fellowship is administered for the U.S. Department of State by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation to develop students with academic and professional backgrounds that fulfill the skill needs of the State Department and who are dedicated to representing America’s interests abroad. 

 “My long term goal is to go to graduate school and later do diplomacy and development work, so this fellowship is literally a dream come true.  The foundation and fellowship alumni are also an amazing resource for graduate school and the future foreign service life, so I’m genuinely thrilled to have received this fellowship,” said Francis.

As an award recipient, Francis will receive financial support during her senior year and first year of graduate study, will participate in one domestic and one overseas internship, and commits to three years as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State.