Ryan St. Jean Named a 2024 Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellow
Ryan St. Jean ’24, an international relations major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and the College of Arts and Sciences, has been named a 2024 Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellow. He is one of only 45 recipients chosen from hundreds of applicants from around the nation for this prestigious honor.
Funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Washington Center, the Pickering Fellowship awards recipients two years of financial support, mentoring and professional development to prepare them for a career in the Foreign Service. Fellows also complete a domestic internship at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., and an overseas internship at a U.S. embassy.
“Ryan’s academic accomplishments, internship experiences and impressive understanding of foreign affairs make him an excellent fit for the Pickering Fellowship and a career in the Foreign Service,” says Jolynn Parker, director of the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA).
“Ryan is extraordinarily thoughtful and passionate about the issues facing the United States abroad. I have no doubt that he will be an outstanding representative of our country during his service in the State Department,” adds Adam Crowley, an advisor with CFSA who assisted St. Jean with his application.
A member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, St Jean recently participated in the Maxwell in Washington program during the fall 2023 semester, where he served as a White House intern in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. This past summer, he served as an intern with Freedom House in New York City, an organization that supports and defends democracy around the world. There, he supported Juneteenth and Disability Pride Month events and facilitated international operations through support in field office staffing, logistics and related activities.
St. Jean studied abroad in Strasbourg, France in the fall of 2022, working with Collectif pour l’accueil des solliciteurs d’asile de Strasbourg to design and implement English language instruction for asylum seekers. He also served as an intern with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and as a peer mentor with Syracuse University’s International Student Success Program.
Among his many honors, he is a recipient of the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship and is a Ronald E. McNair Scholar. He is president of the University’s chapter of Sigma Iota Rho, a member of the Syracuse University Alumni Association Board of Directors (Class of 2024 representative to the National Board) and a deputy chief justice with the Student Association Supreme Court. St. Jean previously served as a member of the University’s Department of Public Safety Student of Color Advisory Committee.
Get to know what inspires St. Jean, how the Pickering Fellowship will help him achieve his goals, and more!
