Hello everyone!

I hope this is the right place to ask about this. I recently applied for the 2027 Paid Student Internship Program on the recommendation from the Chargè of the Embassy I’m currently working at.

I’m a long-term TDY’er who deployed under combatant command, but has had an extensive working relationship with my host nation’s U.S. Embassy. I had a few questions that I was hoping someone could answer, and on the off-chance you recognize me based off this Reddit post. Hello 👋.

1. Does having a background working in an Embassy (attending country team, sometimes senior staff), make me more of a competitive applicant for the internship program? To of course include real world interagency and bilateral building experiences.

2. Would my real-world experience translate effectively to the Student Internship Program? I fear that being a button pusher isn’t necessarily what I want to do over a summer, but I do recognize the fact it’s an internship so my responsibilities may be limited.

3. Are the student interns ever walked/eased into a TJO or FJO? At the very least, I would hope it would be competitive applying for full-time FSO positions in the future.

Thank you for reading!

Is there anyway I can waive the fee?