As part of the RFG Fall Gathering, current RFG Fellows visited different federal employers throughout Washington, DC, including the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Treasury Department. Fellows also met with a panel of representatives from the intelligence community. In each of these meetings, Fellows learned about different employment and internship pathways into the Federal Government. They also had the opportunity to meet with RFG Alumni employed at these agencies, who not only spoke with the Fellows about their careers, but also partnered with RFG staff in organizing these visits. These alumni included Quinton Jones (Bush 2014) at the U.S. Department of Defense; Anubhav Gupta (Fletcher 2013) and Kelli Sunabe (Maxwell 2022) at the U.S. House of Representatives; and Kerri Bitsoff (Bush 2013), Jamie Kraut (Fletcher 2013), Vy Nguyen (UCSD 2020), and Erica Stuke (Maxwell 2020) at the U.S. Treasury Department.
In addition to these employer site visits, Fellows gathered together at the end of the RFG Fall Gathering for a full day of professional development workshops led by RFG Chief Program Officer for Fellowships & Career Development, Sharon Swabb, and the Director of Career Services at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy & Strategy, Stephanie Boomhower. Workshop topics included sessions on long-term career planning and strategies for crafting and tailoring your Federal Resume. The workshops were followed by four alumni career panels in which current Fellows had the opportunity to learn from and network with RFG Alumni who are currently working in the Federal Government in the economics, international development, data analysis, and public diplomacy fields. These panels were moderated by RFG Vice President for Programs, Operations, and DEI, Alex Ghara, and RFG Alumna, Diana Hajali (Bush 2020).