My Time as a UN Diplomat
During the spring of 2016, I was selected as one of eight interns from a pool of over 800 applicants for an internship opportunity at the United States Mission to the United Nations. Hired by the US Department of State, I then began the nearly year-long process of awaiting my security clearance. After some delays, and a conversation with an intimidating Special Investigator, I was finally awarded the low-level clearance needed in order to begin my internship in January of 2017.
Over the next five months, I would have a ringside seat to watching history in motion. As a spectator and active participant due to the wave of resignations that occurred at the time, I got to experience counterterrorism policy negotiations, the Shayrat Missile Crisis emergency meetings in the UN Security Council as well as help in drafting a report on the transmission of noncommunicable diseases. All of this as a 21-year-old intern diplomat, often thrust into the role of foreign service officer to cover for staffing shortages following the unexpected political transition in US leadership following the 2016 election.
The UN Security Council
Much to my surprise and excitement, as an intern during the first one hundred days of a new (and chaotic) white house administration, I was able to participate in negotiations and meetings ordinarily reserved for seasoned diplomats. As such, I actively participated in counter-terror policy negotiations as a representative of the United States Department of State.
However, my most memorable experience in the Security Council came on the morning of April 7, 2017 following US airstrikes on the Syrian-controlled Shayrat Airbase. Considered a direct action by the US against Syria, emergency Security Council meetings were called. As an intern, I assisted in supporting UN Ambassadors Nikki Haley and Michelle Sison, ferrying classified documents and information between the US Mission located at 799 UN Plaza NY, NY and the Security Council chambers across the street.
These negotiations, emergency meetings and diplomatic events allowed me to have a first-person perspective into how history is made and steered by its contemporary powers and the individuals representing them.
The Economic and Social Committee
Another key component of my diplomatic service to the US Department of State was leveraging my academic background in Economics and International Development in the Economic and Social Committee (ECOSOC). In this role, I got exposure to UN meetings and proceedings across flagship UN development organizations such as unicef, UNDP, UN Women and the WHO.
Memorable Experiences
Meeting Celebrities:
Anne Hathaway was super nice!
Working Under a Future US Presidential Candidate:
In the first week of my internship, former Governor of South Carolina and recent Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was appointed as US Ambassador to the UN. Having helped Ambassador Haley personally and in a professional context, it was jarring to see my former boss's boss running for President of the United States to say the least.
Drafting UN Reports That Will Outlive Me:
I assisted in the revision of multiple UN reports on behalf of the State Department, flagging potential issues for senior foreign service officers. The adjustments and modifications to these reports, as a result of that work, will remain in the archives of the UN for eternity.
The Haunting Beauty of the UN Security Council Chambers:
Walking into the room that was designed to protect and defend peace on earth is a humbling and haunting experience. It never really leaves you, and even now I get goose bumps thinking about it.
Attending State Sponsored Parties and Events:
I was a 21-year-old intern diplomat eating caviar, drinking European wine and devouring Emirati dates at swanky state sponsored dinners, parties and events at a number of embassies and UN missions in New York City.
That Time I Was in a Closed Doors, Off-the-Record Counterterrorism Negotiation:
I don't want to be tried under the Espionage Act, so this will stay a secret to my grave. No worries, Uncle Sam! I got you!
What I Learned
History Starts With People Talking in a Room:
As a history nerd, one of the most humbling things that I learned while interning at the United Nations was how history, no matter how impactful, first must start as a conversation. It is people talking in rooms that ultimately reach decisions with impacts spanning generations, centuries and millennia. Realizing this after experiencing it first hand with the Shayrat crisis, it changed how I saw the world.
Institutions Are Just People:
Another grounding lesson that I learned was that prestigious, historic and reputable institutions are large organizations made up of individual people as its components. As a result, any institution, no matter how large, small, known or unknown, will act and behave in a manner consistent with its components. As such, the mightiest and most intimidating institutions are still prone to err, for better or for worse.
House of Cards Was Surprisingly Close:
This one is kind of a hilarious lesson in retrospect. Obviously there's a lot of dramatized stuff, but the interpersonal components of major decisions and conversations are accurate. Particularly to how interpersonal relationships impact the logical and rationale behind those behaviors and decisions.