international student

June 8, 2023July 5, 2023

Elliott Student was Awarded the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship

Payton Beaumier, who recently graduated from the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University, was awarded a 2023 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship following a highly competitive nationwide contest.

The Pickering Fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by Howard University, supports extraordinary individuals who want to pursue careers in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State. Beaumier was chosen out of 600 outstanding candidates.

Beaumier, who grew up in Sioux City, Iowa, said that since high school, she’s dreamed of having a career that would allow her to work towards advancing human rights on a global scale.

One of her teachers in high school once said, “What makes this country great is little people doing little acts of love.” Beaumier said it is a quote that continuously sticks with her and serves as a source of motivation to dedicate her life to public service.

After completing her graduate program, Payton will become a U.S. Foreign Service Officer. She hopes to serve as a political officer working to address matters of human security and strengthen U.S. relations with countries across the globe. Payton credits her time and experience at GW for setting her on this trajectory.

When Beaumier arrived at GW, she was searching for a way to turn her passions into a career, and GW provided an incomparable sense of direction and an environment for curiosity and growth. She stated, “I had amazing academic and experiential learning opportunities at GW. It is a wonderful place to jumpstart your interests.” Specifically, she expressed her gratitude for the unique courses she took, her engaging and influential professors, the Career Services Center, and her time as part of the Elliott School Dean’s Scholars Program.

While at GW, Payton served as the recruitment officer for the Delta Phi Epsilon Professional Foreign Service Sorority and was president of the Women in International Security Branch at GWU.

She participated in the U.S. Foreign Service Internship Program and interned with the Bureau of Counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru, focusing on international narcotics and law enforcement affairs. She has completed internships at the White House with the Gender Policy Council, the U.S. Department of the Treasury with the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Payton became aware of her selection for the Pickering Fellowship during her time as an intern for the White House Gender Policy Council, and she aspires to continue advocating for gender equity and equality in foreign policy during her career.

This fellowship will allow Beaumier to pursue a two-year master’s degree in an area of relevance to the Foreign Service. It will also connect her to extensive professional development opportunities, including internships, mentors, and skills training.

As part of the program, Beaumier will work at the U.S. Department of State for their domestic internship, and the U.S. Department of State will send her overseas to intern in a U.S. Embassy or Consulate to get hands-on experience with U.S. foreign policy and the work of the Foreign Service.

“I am excited for the opportunity to dedicate my future and my career to promoting peace and supporting our citizens abroad while living a life of public service.”

September 27, 2022October 31, 2022

Elliott Student Spotlight: Elise Bourmatnov

The Elliott school is honored to welcome in the new class of 2026 for the 2022-2023 academic year. With an incoming undergraduate class of just under 550 students and a graduate class of just over 250 students. We decided to catch up with a first year Elliott student Elise Bourmatnov to see how students are adjusting to life at GW.

What made you choose GW?

When I was making my college decision it was a question between staying in state or going all the way out to DC and in the end I chose GW mostly for academic reasons and for new opportunities. It was hard to choose to live so far away, but the city atmosphere was always exciting and there wasn’t a program that really catered to my interests in Seattle

What school were you in between?

I was in between the University of Washington and GW. I had two sisters that went there one just graduated with a public health degree and my other sister is a junior at the moment and she is studying psychology.

Are you interested in Greek life?

Yes, both of my sisters went through the greek system in Washington and I think interested in joining greek life here.

I’m pretty sure I want to join the panhellenic sororities. I don’t have a favorite yet but I’m interested to look into them and see which one I would like to be in, especially during formal recruitment in mid-January.

What’s your favorite thing you have done in DC so far?

I think the most exciting thing I have done was taking a White House tour. I actually had to contact my congressional representative about 3 months in advance to request the tour. I took a red eye here and went straight to the White House so it was pretty tiring, but it was really cool and I got lots of good photos.Also, going around Georgetown was super cute also there was a lot of shops and food, so that’s definitely some place you have to go if you are in DC

What’s the best food you have had here?

I have had the best food in Western Market. There is a shawarma spot I went to with my friends and it was super good. I had never tried it before and it was so delicious and at a good price too.

What’s on your bucket list?

If there are more opportunities for activism, demonstrations and that sort of stuff it would be really interesting to be a part of.

Do you have any favorite or interesting classes so far?

I think my education here has been general so far just doing history, economics, French, and international affairs. French is definitely a challenge because at my high school we did not have our classes instructed in the french language, but here class is entirely in French. There is a learning curve, but it’s making me improve a lot in French and especially in speaking.

I had also never taken an economics class before but so far it’s interesting. The math component is a nice break from the rest of my classes which are reading focused. Of course international affairs is the most interesting class because my professor Michael Brown is super passionate and engaging.

Anything that surprised you now living as a student at GW?

I definitely feel more connected with the city. While I was touring I thought that because I was on a college campus it would be very enclosed. However I actually feel I’m always leaving campus and finding new restaurants with new things to do. I love all of the beautiful architecture and monuments that have not gotten old yet.

What is the social scene like at GW in your opinion?

Some people say there are no parties at this school, however I have seen an article or two saying that this is a party school. In my experience it’s kinda in the middle, there’s definitely some night life but it’s not crazy. Because we are in the middle of the city there is a bit of a space limitation. I have signed up for George’s army and I am excited to watch basketball and other sports throughout the year.

What future goals do you have in Washington?

I currently have a federal work study job in the public affairs office of Elliot. I am still figuring out my concentration within international affairs at the moment so, I don’t quite know what internships I would like yet. I am considering a concentration in international development or international economics.

April 2, 2020April 2, 2020

Q&A with GW International Student on her Experience during the Coronavirus

First of all, how is your family?

My family is doing well in China. When COVID-19 broke out there in January and February, my city was locked down because it is near Wuhan, which is the most disastrous place. Like other people, my family had stayed at home for two months, and the only chance to go out was grocery shopping. However, there was a shortage of masks in China at one time, so I ordered some masks and shipped them from the US to China. It took around one month to get there! All in all, fortunately, as the regulation of locking down is removed currently, everything is normal back there, and my family did well throughout the entire outbreak.

When you were in the US, how have you been staying in touch with friends and family?

I often called my family to check if they were doing well, if there was something new, or if they needed anything that I could help with. I could stay in touch with my friends in China by chatting with them online and through social media. I knew staying at home for two months must be a hard thing for them, so I often talked with them to cheer them up. I would tell them what the situation in the US was, how’s my school life, and so on.

How have on-line classes been?

My on-line classes have been good so far. Except there are some glitches for one of my classes and the professor needs to cancel tomorrow’s class because she hasn’t found a solution to fix it yet. Other than that, on-line classes are great. I feel I can focus on the lecture more in some classes because I used to sit in the back of the classroom and the whiteboard was too small so that I couldn’t read words clearly. Now I can catch up with the professor better. And in one of my other classes, my professor invited a guest speaker. There was echo from my professor’s computer, so the guest just turned off the professor’s microphone, which was so funny because the professor could make facial expressions.

What have you been eating? Has your diet changed? Are you cooking more in the residence hall?

I went grocery shopping once a week. My diet basically stayed the same, because I used to cook in the dorm before. However, sometimes I don’t have any idea what to cook; my mind is completely blank. Sometimes the purpose of cooking is not to make it taste delicious; rather, it is to make me alive.

What is your favorite quarantine activity?

During this time, it gives me more time to watch movies and read books that I missed before. Also, I do some workout and yoga on my yoga mat. Besides my normal workout, I love to do some stretching poses. They really help me relax my body, because I hardly walk in the room.

What do you think will be better or permanently different once this over?

From my personal perspective, life will be normal and stay the same as it was before this happened. But I believe people will pay more attention to their personal health, because this thing really teaches people a lesson about that. So basically I think things will get better!

Can you provide little biographical information about yourself?

I was born in Chongqing, China. I have lived in the US for two years. I went to GW because it is a community where people connect closely and can feel a sense of belonging. Also, it is located in Washington, DC, which I believe is a comfortable place for living. I have a part-time job at the Elliott School of International Affairs in the Public Affairs department on campus. I love my work because it helps me get to know more people, improves my abilities in things like photography and video editing, and I learn more new things that I never knew before. My favorite thing about college in the US is that I can have a flexible schedule every week. In my high school back in China, I had a full study schedule every week and it always stayed the same. I used to go to class at 7:30 a.m. and end classes at 10:00 p.m. It is totally different in college in the US, because I can have spare time in the gym, club, and for other activities. Both ways work for me. What I would like to say is that living in another country and experiencing a different lifestyle is attractive to me, because I want my life to be varied and meaningful!

Editors Note: Willow is now safely back in China and in quarantine before she can rejoin her family. Until then, she continues to work remotely for the Public Affairs Department of the Elliott School of International Affairs.