Shiva Marvasti ’08, of Stoneham, Mass., has been named a 2011 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellow. The Pickering Fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of State, will provide support for her completion of a graduate degree at Georgetown University as she prepares academically and professionally to enter the United States Foreign Services.
Administered by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation for the U.S. Department of State, the Pickering Fellowships develop a source of well-prepared men and women whose academic background fulfill the skill needs of the Department of State and who are dedicated to representing America’s interests abroad.
At Georgetown, she will pursue a master of science in foreign service at the university’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. She hopes to pursue a long-term career with the Department of State.
Pickering Fellows participate in one domestic and one overseas internship. They commit to three years of service as a foreign service officer for the U.S. Department of State, contingent on their passing the Foreign Service examinations. The Foreign Service, a corps of working professional who support the president of the United States and the Secretary of the United States Department of State in pursuit of the goals and objectives of American foreign policy, are “front-line” personnel who can be sent anywhere in the world, at any time, in service to the diplomatic needs of the United States.
Marvasti immigrated to the United States from Tehran, Iran, at age 14. “Living in two distinct cultures at a young age shaped my interest in international affairs and strengthened my resolve to make a difference based on my unique experiences,” she wrote to the fellowship foundation.
Since graduating from Holy Cross, Marvasti has pursued her interest in government and business by completing the Financial Management Program at GE Capital, the financial services arm of General Electric. She is currently working as part of GE’s Corporate Audit Staff.
A political science major, Marvasti interned with several financial and international institutions while at Holy Cross, including the Fidelity Capital Markets and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., where she worked on issues pertaining to the Middle East. She was co-chair of the College Democrats, senior interviewer for Admissions, and representative on the Student Government Association’s Judicial Council.
“The United States’ international representatives must have dedication, initiative, integrity, cultural adaptability, ability to communicate well, and a thorough intellectual background,” according to the press release announcing the 2011 Pickering Fellows. “The 40 new Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellows named this summer have demonstrated promise across this range of areas crucial to United States Foreign Service Officers.”
The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program is named in honor of one of the most distinguished and capable American diplomats of the latter half of the 20th century. Pickering held the rank of career ambassador, the highest rank in the U.S. Foreign Service. He served as ambassador to Nigeria, El Salvador, Israel, India, and the Russian Federation, finishing his career as under secretary of state for political affairs. 
Related Information
- "Stoneham Resident Named 2011 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellow" - Stoneham Patch (July 12, 2011)
