Penn 2022 graduate awarded a Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Fellowship

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Jade Gonzalez, a 2022 graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences, has been selected as a 2024 Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Fellow.

Funded by the United States Department of State and managed by the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University, the Pickering Fellowship supports those planning to pursue a career in the U.S. Foreign Service. Pickering Fellows receive support for two years of study for a master’s degree from a U.S.-based institution, as well as professional development opportunities including two summer internships, one at the State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C. and one overseas at a U.S. embassy or consulate. 

Gonzalez is currently a business analyst at McKinsey & Company in Washington D.C., where she works in the public sector and travel and logistics practices. As a Pickering Fellow, she is planning to pursue a master’s degree in international environmental policy to further her interests in culinary diplomacy, sustainable agriculture, and climate change mitigation. She plans to become a U.S. Foreign Service Officer and work within the Economic Cone and further U.S. climate policy interests abroad.

From Bertrand, Nebraska, Gonzalez majored in international relations and European history at Penn. Identifying as first-generation, low-income student, she was a Questbridge Scholar and the advocacy chair for PennFirst. She was a Student Fellow at Perry World House, and served as president of Penn Student Agencies, a student-run business group that provides students employment and professional development opportunities. She also was a master carpenter and set designer for several student performing arts groups on campus, including Quadramics Theatre Co., Stimulus Children’s Theatre, and Penn Singers. 

One of 45 Pickering Fellows chosen this year, Gonzalez applied for the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program with assistance from Penn’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships. 

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