Congratulations to the 2024 recipients of our Diplomacy Scholarship, Emma Dart and Joseph Gibbons. This scholarship provides recipients with plans of working in diplomacy with up to $5,000 to support their academic and professional goals.
The Diplomacy Scholarship is an endowment established by V Jordan and Patricia N. Tanner through the Kennedy Center. Jordan Tanner, who had a lengthy career in the US Foreign Service, said at the time of the creation of the scholarship, "In the world we're living in today, diplomacy has never been so critical . . . I strongly encourage students who have an interest in living abroad, and furthering diplomatic relations of the American government, to consider taking the Foreign Service exam and hopefully become a Foreign Service officer."
This year's recipients have both demonstrated serious interest and dedication to a future in diplomacy. Emma Dart (International Relations with a minor in business) has already, in her time at BYU, taken part in the 2020 Model United Nations team, conducted research in Malaysia, participated in a diplomatic outreach to Azerbaijan through the Sterling Foundation, and been part of the Foreign Service Student Organization student leadership. As an intern with the Secretary of State's Office of Global Women's Issues during the summer of 2024, she worked on an event for the 75th anniversary of NATO and integrated a gender perspective into security frameworks.
The money she's received from this scholarship will help her reach her goals, Dart says: "One day, I hope to be a national-security-minded diplomatic servant. To do this, I plan to begin my career in the Air Force Civilian Service as part of the Office of Special Investigations. My internship with the Department of State showed me the gaps in my education and talents that would be best served by serving with OSI. From my time in OSI, I hope to expand to the connection between national security and diplomacy—Interpol. Once I have this experience, I want to be able to enter the Foreign Service as a consular officer! Receiving this scholarship will allow me to participate in experiences that will enhance my learning, specifically aiding my desire to attend grad school."
To any students interested in the scholarship, she offers the following advice: "They should get involved with the Foreign Service Student Organization (FSSO) early on. By participating in FSSO, completing a State Department Internship, and working toward taking the Foreign Service Officer Test, students will be better prepared to receive the scholarship."
Joseph Gibbons (Political Science) says that he has always wanted to be an ambassador with a dream of one day joining the U.S. Foreign Service. Throughout high school, he participated in local and community government, twice being the youngest county delegate for his local caucus. Recently, he applied simultaneously for the US Foreign Service Officer Exam and BYU’s MPA program, the latter of which he is a currently a candidate. Gibbons applied for the scholarship after hearing about it on the Kennedy Center website. He says, "After 9 years of direct sales (a.k.a. knocking doors) with Vivint, I wanted to put my people and negotiation skills to better use in the private sector through the U.S. Foreign Service."
During his undergraduate studies, while employed at Vivint, he spent hundreds of volunteer hours with Vivint’s charity arm, Vivint Gives Back, volunteering in various capacities domestically and abroad, earning him the “Volunteer of the Year Award” in 2023. He says, "I've helped run the last 4 trips overseas in different capacities: I was a translator for our trip to Thailand and helped build homes and community centers in Costa Rica and in 3 different states within Mexico with VGB. I also helped with another organization in the Dominican Republic for displaced Haitian immigrants. These real experiences solidified for me that I had a gift for languages and helping others globally. This also made me want to represent my nation abroad."
Gibbons says he looks forward to continuing his education and his pursuit of spreading democracy and advocating for U.S. interests worldwide. To any students interested in applying for the Diplomacy Scholarship, he gives the following advice:
- "Get out of the country in a service capacity. There are too many opportunities and options out there to let it pass you by. Maybe you can apply for internship credit, but if not, don’t let academia get in the way of invaluable experience of any international service."
- "Just take the FSOT! It ends up being free and just gives you options; I wish I had taken it earlier in my career, so I knew what I was up against later."
- "Check out the BYU MPA program! This has been one of the most amazing and transformative programs I’ve ever been a part of. There are so many amazing hard skills I didn’t get into as deep in my undergraduate studies and so many amazing networking opportunities. The BYU MPA program as A TON of alumni in federal careers, let alone the Foreign Service."
You can learn more about the scholarship here. Students who have demonstrated a commitment to a diplomacy career through service and leadership at BYU are encouraged to apply.