Alumni interview with Ulysses Muñoz

Ulysses Muñoz '15
Major: Multi-Platform Journalism 
Hometown : Columbia MD
GCSA President 2012-13 
Photojournalist, ViewFinder
 
Global Communities: How did you get an internship at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota?

Ulysses Muñoz: My mom is a Foreign Service Officer and is currently stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia. The Embassy regularly offers internships, so I submitted an application for Winter 2015. Since I was already planning to visit my mom over break, I thought it would be a great opportunity to work and travel.

GC: Describe a typical day

UM: My internship was with the Public Affairs Section. Every day I woke up at 6 am and caught a shuttle to Embassy around 7:15 am. The work differed from day-to-day. For example, one day I went with my supervisor to the Juan Valdez coffee plantation to shoot a video of U.S. students learning about business practices in Colombia. I shot the video and did a lot of the editing. I also worked on a project for the embassy with NASA.

One of the most enjoyable projects was a series of video shorts called “English Tip of the Day.” For each clip, a Foreign Service Officer would share a common English expression or idiom (e.g. “beat around the bush”). The specific segment I worked on was ,“speak of the devil”. The project was a lot of fun and I got to work with a green screen, which was new for me. In addition to video editing, I also did some translation work.

GC: What surprised you the most about the experience and/or location?

UM: I’d been there once before so it wasn’t a complete surprise, but Colombia is different from other places I’ve been to in Latin America. This experience was the first time I had to follow strict security protocols. For example, when you enter the Embassy, you have to go through lots of checkpoints. Once my security clearance went through, I was able to move around the Embassy more freely. Despite these restrictions, I was still was able to meet lots of Colombians. My mom and I also traveled to Medellin and Cartagena.

GC: What advice would you give to someone who is interested in interning at an Embassy abroad?

UM: You've got to remember that hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people are applying for a similar position as you. What makes you better? How are you different?

One thing you can do is personally reach out to someone who already has a job that you're interested in. Check out LinkedIn or go through a company's website. If you have a general idea of what you might want to do, find somebody that works in that department and write them an email.

Don't stop there though--follow up. Find a phone number and give them a call. If they're unresponsive, call someone else. Separate yourself from the people who think that just submitting an application is good enough; otherwise, you're just another resume in a pile.


GC: How has your experience in GC influenced your academic and/or career goals?

UM: One of the best things about being in Global was meeting people from different countries. This was one of the big draws to the program.

GC: What’s next (after graduation)?

UM: I’m currently looking for a job. Because of my experience interning abroad, I’m looking into work about opportunities, including the Peace Corps and Foreign Service.