Rangel Fellow Pursues Foreign Service

JUDY GENSHAFT HONORS COLLEGE ALUMNUS Ivan Pineda was named a 2020 Rangel Fellow by the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program. Pineda is the third Rangel Fellow in USF history and one of only 30 fellows selected in 2020 from hundreds of applicants representing institutions across the United States.

Honoring distinguished Congressman Charles Rangel, this prestigious graduate fellowship aims to promote greater diversity and excellence in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State. Fellows receive $37,500 annually for a two-year graduate degree in a field of their choice related to the Foreign Service, paid summer internships with a member of Congress in Washington, D.C. and at embassies abroad, professional development training, and mentoring from senior Foreign Service Officers.

Rangel Fellows who successfully complete their graduate program and Foreign Service entry requirements receive guaranteed appointments in the U.S. State Department Foreign Service. Fellows commit to working as Foreign Service Officers for at least five years.

Pineda graduated in May 2019 magna cum laude from USF with a bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Quantitative Economics. He worked with Lauren Bartshe-Hanlen in the university’s Office of National Scholarships to prepare his Rangel application.

While at USF, Pineda developed and ran programs about health and community involvement as a Peer Health Educator with the Student Wellness Center and as a Lead Fellow in the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement. He also contributed to efforts to internationalize USF through involvement in the Chinese Language Club and the United Nations Student Alliance.

Pineda is no stranger to public service and the high-stakes, demanding work he will experience in the Foreign Service. As an Air Force Reservist, he was responsible for managing service members’ medical records and implementing simulation exercises as part of preparation for his wing’s continuous global deployments. Due to his exemplary service during military training, he graduated first in his class at the Air Force Military Training Health Administration School.

Enhancing his skillset for foreign service, Pineda also studied Chinese at the American Council’s Taiwan Intensive Summer Language Program in 2017 with support of the Freeman Asia Scholarship and the Fund for Education Abroad Scholarship. The following summer, he was selected for the Critical Language Scholarship program in Dalian, China. This robust training in Mandarin language prepared him to undertake his Honors College thesis that explored transnational political and economic issues driving Chinese investments in renewable energy sectors in Italy and Brazil.

As a Rangel Fellow, Pineda plans to pursue a master’s degree in Public Policy with a concentration in Political and Economic Development. His goal is to work as an economic officer in the Foreign Service, and to build and maintain positive economic, trade, and other commercial interests among the U.S., host governments, and local business communities.

This prestigious graduate fellowship aims to promote greater diversity and excellence in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State.