American Corner Yerevan

My Career as an American Diplomat

1:00pm 20.03.2010

On March 20, 2010, the American Corner in Yerevan organized a public lecture entitled "My Career as an American Diplomat." Our guest speaker was the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Officer Tom Mittnacht.

Mr. Mittnacht recounted his career as a diplomat. He explained that American diplomats come from a variety of backgrounds. After the finishing the university, he began a career in banking. Later, he decided to join the State Department. The Foreign Service is a proud profession and every year thousands of young professionals apply to become a diplomat. Mr. Mittnacht explained the selection process.

During the question and answer session, Mr. Mittnacht spoke in more detail about his career and the countries he has visited. He showed pictures that illustrated some of the interesting aspects of the profession and how the families of diplomats live. The audience enjoyed hearing his humorous stories and stories about some of the more difficult times of his career in Mexico, Croatia, Russia and Chile.

Around 40 students and alumni were present at the lecture. They asked many questions about the advantages and disadvantages of a Foreign Service career, the necessary qualifications for becoming a diplomat, how many years can a diplomat stay in one country, etc. After the lecture participants had a clearer understanding of the requirements, advantages and disadvantages of pursing such a career.