Diplomats in the Making
From left, Navtej Dhaliwal, Devin Glick, former Ambassador William Ramsay and Christian Keller discuss Rice’s Summer Mentorship Experience in Paris.
For some students, summer break is a time off from academic pursuits. For others, like junior Christian Keller, junior Navtej Dhaliwal and senior Devin Glick, it’s an opportunity to make a mark on the world. The three found the means to do just that through the Summer Mentorship Experience (SME), a program that makes it possible for Rice students to study for nine weeks at the Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri), a prestigious think tank in Paris, France. Run by Leadership Rice and the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, the program pairs participants with a mentor who is responsible for overseeing the student’s learning and personal development.
to succeed in any professional setting — be it a research institution, a multinational organization or the U.S. Foreign Service.” Keller, Dhaliwal and Glick were selected out of 150 applicants. They took their first step with LEAD 150, a class that met after spring final exams, during which, they interacted with Leadership Rice staff and were familiarized with essential leadership skills that are key to success in professional contexts. Over the summer, they wrote papers that
population. He emphasized the heterogeneity of the group and found that growing numbers do not always translate into power. “In the context of a Hispanic population boom,” Dhaliwal wrote, “it appears that both among voters and within the government, underrepresentation of Hispanics persists.” Keller turned to another subject entirely in his “Kanal Istanbul: Pipedream or Politics?” He looked at a proposal by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to construct a waterway that would allow ships to go around Istanbul and avoid the crowded Bosporus. Keller acknowledged Erdogan’s political skills but had questions about the estimated cost and the actual need for an
The program is designed to give students an idea of what’s involved in the development of policy to prepare them for a career path in the fields of diplomacy and public service. The program is designed to give students an idea of what’s involved in the development of policy to prepare them for a career path in the fields of diplomacy and public service. The experience abroad, in particular the work with mentors and writing a research paper, provides participants with real-world experience they can use in the future. Keller’s mentor was former U.S. Ambassador William Ramsay, the former deputy executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and currently senior adviser of the Center for Energy at Ifri. “Ambassador Ramsay asked the critical and deeply personal questions about my interests, strengths and values that pushed me to find a research topic that both motivated me to work as well as fit with the objectives of Ifri’s energy program,” Keller said. “In addition to facilitating my personal development, he helped me build the ‘soft’ skills necessary
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linked concepts with work experiences and interviewed industry leaders to understand how those leaders have developed their own leadership capacities. Glick’s “A Look at the IEA 2011 Release of Strategic Oil Reserves” examined the repercussions of the IEA’s effort to stabilize energy prices as the Libyan crisis unfolded. Citing forecasts for tighter supplies, a vow by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries not to increase production and an expected rise in demand due to the approaching driving season, in addition to the sharp reduction in Libyan supply, Glick concluded, “It can still be said that this is a positive improvement in the use of strategic stocks.” In “U.S. Demographics: The Hispanic Boom,” Dhaliwal discussed the political, economic and cultural effects of the rapid increase in the United States’ Hispanic
alternative route for oil tankers. Noting that Erdogan announced the canal plan shortly before national elections last April, Keller wrote, “The plan appears to be merely the words of a popular leader vying to be reelected in a country that is eager to grow.” The three papers reflect the diversity of interests the SME encourages. “This program provided the opportunity to get graduatelevel work experience after just two years of undergraduate education,” Keller said. “It gave me access to top-tier leaders in a foreign professional context, and it required that I look into myself while simultaneously reaching out to the world. To my knowledge, no other comparably comprehensive undergraduate experience exists.” —Franz Brotzen