Clara Sherwood is a second-year graduate student in the M.A. in International Affairs program at the Elliot School, concentrating in the Middle East and North Africa. She is currently a Student Trainee at the U.S. Department of State in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation and has also interned with the Libyan Embassy External Office, the Bureau of Consular Affairs, and the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. She is a 2022 - 2023 Fulbright Awardee to Morocco, a former "New Voices on Nuclear Weapons" Fellow with the Federation of American Scientists, and a two-time recipient of the U.S. State Department's Critical Languages Scholarship in Arabic.
When did you realize you wanted an international career? What led you to choose the Elliott School?
I never considered a career that wasn't international. From a young age I enjoyed learning languages, participating in different cultural activities, traveling abroad, and being challenged in new environments. Once I learned that I could get paid to travel and learn languages with the State Department, I was sold on the career path.
I chose the Elliott School for three primary reasons: fellowship opportunities (for me, these have been the Wolcott Fellowship and the Foreign Language & Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship), access to professor-practitioners, and course offerings after 5pm.
As someone who wants to go into public service, avoiding the accumulation student debt while being able to work was crucial in my graduate school decision-making process. The Elliott School made it possible for me to further my education without undermining my career aspirations. No other graduate schools in the D.C. area have a better combination of fellowship funding, esteemed professors, and class flexibility.
Where do you currently work and how does it fit in with your career goals?
I am currently a Student Trainee or Pathways intern at the U.S. Department of State in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation and was previously a Pathways intern in the Bureau of Consular Affairs. The great thing about a Pathways internship is that it qualifies me to be eligible to convert into a federal position upon graduation, aligning with my career goal of becoming a public servant in the international affairs world. I've also had some pretty incredible real-world experiences, such as being actively involved in reaching out to Americans abroad, conveying evolving U.S. capabilities and policies regarding assisted departure and evacuation during the the Gaza/Israel crisis last Fall, and staffing Deputy Assistant Secretaries during public engagement events.
Simultaneously, I also took advantage of the "New Voices on Nuclear Weapons" Fellowship through the Federation of American Scientists at the beginning of my time at the Elliott School. This fellowship helped me enter the nuclear policy field with no prior knowledge of nuclear weapons, let alone deterrence theory and the history of nuclear proliferation. I can confidently say that without this fellowship opportunity, I would not have thought I could have the authority to speak about nuclear weapons. Since, I have researched the relationship between social media and nuclear escalation with expert Jamie Withorne, published several pieces, and even presented at the CSIS PONI Conference at U.S. STRATCOM.
What has been your most rewarding academic experience at the Elliott School and why?
The ability to learn from professors who lived through and affected moments in foreign policy history is a reason why I chose to attend the Elliott School. While I value my undergraduate education and professors, at the graduate level I wanted to learn from practitioners who had lived through the events I was learning about in my textbooks.
Hence, the most rewarding academic experience thus far been my two courses with Ambassador Gray. Not only is Ambassador Gray a fantastic professor and source of MENA expertise, but he continues to provide me with an important example of what empowering and humble leadership should look like the highest of levels. His courses are insightful, well-designed, and sprinkled with anecdotes from his time serving in Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Iraq, and other countries. One key takeaway from his classes: appreciating a country's claim to the "best" couscous is more important to achieving U.S. foreign policy goals than one might think.
Describe the pros and cons of being a full-time versus part-time student at the Elliott School.
I would recommend being a full-time student and working part-time, if you can manage it financially. The Elliott School has so much to offer outside of class, such as networking opportunities, guest speaker events, conferences, site visits, language lunches, and more. Being a student isn't just about attending classes and turning in assignments, but also about taking advantage of all that the Elliott School community has to offer. For example, I've learned just as much in office hour conversations with Ambassador Gray as I have in his wonderful classes.
Pairing classes with work or interning offers valuable exposure to both academic and real-world perspectives on foreign policy. This dual approach equips us young policymakers with multiple lenses to effectively approach nuanced international issues.
What advice do you have for incoming students who are starting to think about internship and work opportunities?
Whenever you hear people talking about the importance of "networking," don't approach it transactionally. You don't have to go to every "young professional" happy hour you see posted on Eventbrite. Value and cultivate friendships with your classmates. Reach out to professors and touch base with former supervisors. "Networking" is about building relationships and learning about opportunities.
When I first moved to D.C., someone told me the following: "You will apply for your first one or two jobs. The rest of your jobs? You will them get based on who you know." Keep this in mind and treat everyone with respect.
In regard to internships, find people on Linkedin who have positions you are interested in and reach out to them. 9 times out of 10, people are happy to connect because most people love speaking about themselves and how they got to be where they are. This strategy is how I've found success with obtaining different fellowships, internships, and scholarships.
Tell us about your pets!
Right now all of my pets are at home with my family in Pennsylvania. However, I recently bought a Venus Fly Trap from Trader Joe's and so far it has survived three weeks!
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The #WeAreElliott profile series is managed by the Elliott School Office of Graduate Admissions and highlights current students to answer common questions posed by prospective, incoming, and current students. For more information on this series or to submit questions, e-mail the Office of Graduate Admissions at esiagrad@gwu.edu.
The views expressed by students profiled do not necessarily represent those of organizations they work for, are affiliated with, or the Elliott School of International Affairs.
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