GREENVILLE, S.C.—Furman University alumna Rachael Parrish (‘09) has received a 2011 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship following a highly competitive nationwide contest. The award supports extraordinary individuals who want to pursue a career in the U.S. Foreign Service.
The Rangel Fellowship is funded by the U.S. Department of State and managed by the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University. The award will provide Parrish approximately $90,000 in benefits over a two-year period to pursue a master’s degree in international affairs.
As part of the Rangel Program, Parrish will work this summer for a member of Congress on foreign affairs issues. In summer 2012, the U.S. Department of State will send her overseas to work in a U.S. embassy to get hands-on experience with U.S. foreign policy and the work of the Foreign Service. Upon graduation, she will become a U.S. diplomat, embarking on one of the most challenging and rewarding careers of service to her country.
Rangel Program director Patricia Scroggs said, “We are thrilled to have Rachael as part of the program. Rachael has already shown impressive leadership, academic accomplishments and integrity in her life. I have no doubt that she will excel in graduate school and make important contributions to promoting global peace and prosperity as a U.S. diplomat.”
Parrish is from Cobden, Ill. and graduated Furman with a bachelor’s in political science and Asian studies. At Furman, Parrish was president of the Furman University Student Activities Board, student manager for the Riley Institute Advance Team, and secretary for Chi Omega Fraternity. She has also won numerous awards and fellowships, among them, the U.S. State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship to study Mandarin at Soochow University in summer 2009, and working nine months as a fellow at the U.S. – China Economic and Security Review Commission in Washington, D.C. She also has completed several intensive research projects on Asian political and economic issues.
Parrish is studying Mandarin Chinese at Tsinghua University in Beijing through the University of California-Berkeley’s Inter-University Program. While studying in China, she also worked as an English research assistant at Tsinghua University. Parrish is currently interning at Groupon International.
For more information, contact the Furman News and Media Relations Office at (864) 294-3107. More information about the Rangel Program can be found online at www.rangelprogram.org.