Oct. 13, 2014
Eleanor Skelton
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Kasey Allen is an Irish step-dancer, but she was also selected as one of 25 students nationwide to attend the World Affairs conference.
The World Affairs Council conference is Nov. 5-7, and will include meetings with ambassadors, dinner at the Royal Norwegian Embassy and lectures about national affairs and global issues.
“Mostly we meet several times a month, we bring in speakers [who] were past ambassadors or people that have specific expertise,” said Allen, a sophomore political science major with a focus on global politics and a minor in political economy.
Carrie Arnold, the Gateway Program and Honors Program Seminar assistant director, who is also a member of the World Affairs Council, nominated Allen through an application process with the national board.
Membership in the World Affairs Council has presented diverse career opportunities for Allen.
“I actually ended up getting an internship from an event, and I met the British consul general. She’s stationed in Denver at the British consulate for the summer,” Allen explained.
Allen plans to intern with the British consulate in Denver this summer.
“Mostly I was researching businesses in Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico that import or export to or from the UK, and I would have to […] give briefings to the consulate about why they are important to the country and why they should meet with them,” Allen said.
“It was mostly a research provision because it’s a really small consulate, but […] I planned a trip for her, I planned the itinerary, it was kind of secretarial work, but mostly it was research.”
Allen said she was not able to actually meet many ambassadors due to difficulties in obtaining restricted security clearance.
“I passed the background check and everything, but then when I needed the restricted [clearance], it would have taken six more weeks [to apply], so the internship this summer ended up being like a month or a month and a half.”
Allen hopes to gain more networking experience with ambassadors and officials at the conference next month.
“Now I’m super excited about Washington D.C., because it’s all expenses paid, my airfare, my lodgings, they’re paying for the conference, everything is free for me,” Allen said.
“I would really like to work as a Foreign Service Officer at embassies across the world.”