US Embassy: During this visit, the guest speakers were all very engaging and told us information that is beneficial to us and formed the visit around our questions. It was interesting to hear that none of them were expecting or planning on working for the embassy. Yuri Arthur was the main one to speak but she had a lot of insights and tips. The first thing that Yuri told us was she wasn’t planning on working for the embassy nor was she expecting to get hired. She first explained the application process. She said a person doesn’t automatically read your application, a computer system does.  Apparently, this computer system looks for the target words and how many times you used them. Yuri explained she thinks she was able to get through this first part because she is very wordy. Her advice was to keep reusing the main words. She then went on to explain that some questions will ask if you have certain skills or experience in something. She explained even if you don’t have that specific skill or don’t have the specific experience to explain an experience or skill that is similar. After the application process, she explained there is a stress test. After she went into further detail about her experience with the stress test she explained other aspects of the job.

She explained you have to move every 4 years. Luckily you get somewhat of a say where you go. She said you fill out a sheet with the top places you want to go and you will receive your assignment. Moving to a brand new country can be very scary but she explained the government helps you. She said they actually find you a house, pay for the house, and all the necessary things that we get for free in the United States. For example, their house is paid for, if they need clean water, and even their children’s tuition is paid for. She also explained sometimes you will get training or tips for the country you’re moving to. Whether that is learning the language or culture, but every country is different and so is the amount and duration of the training.

ACG Center for Excellence in Sustainability: On our first day of class we had Rania Assariotaki come visit us. She is the Senior Manager of Sustainability for The American College of Greece. A few things that I remember from her presentation are they listen to their students and have them help in easy ways. When they were getting students to use reusable water bottles, the students complained that there weren’t any drinking fountains to refill their bottles. So the school listened and put in drinking fountains. Or another situation was a student was talking to her about how they wanted to help but are only a history major. So what they did was have them stand in the front of the school holding a sign. Even though they don’t have a major relating to sustainability they were able to help out and make a difference.