Amelia Raether '13 interned at the U.S. Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus through funding from the Rockefeller Center and Mr. E. John Rosenwald Jr. '52 Public Affairs Fund. As an intern in the Consular Section, she interviewed applicants seeking visas to the U.S. and drafted cables summarizing cases. She found the experience gave her valuable cultural and policy insights working directly with local Cypriots and on issues like the divided Cyprus and regional conflicts. Amelia was grateful for the funding and guidance to help her explore a possible career in foreign affairs or public policy.

1. [MR. E. JOHN ROSENWALD JR. ’52 PUBLIC AFFAIRS FUND INTERN PROFILE]
Originally from Minneapolis, Amelia Raether '13
graduated as valedictorian of 2009 from Benilde-St.
Margaret’s High School, where she was a National Merit
Commended Scholar, Editor-In-Chief of the student
newspaper and Captain of the Speech team. She is
currently a rising senior working towards a Government
major with a focus on International Relations, and a
Middle Eastern Studies minor. Last fall, Amelia interned
at the Department of Justice’s Office of International
Affairs, and she attended the Middle Eastern Studies FSP
to Fez, Morocco during her sophomore spring. Here at Dartmouth, Amelia is the Assistant
Director of Dartmouth Ski Patrol and involved with the Off Campus Programs Student Advisory
Board, First Year Trips, The Dartmouth newspaper’s Layout staff, and Tridelta Sorority. After
graduation, she hopes to attend law school or graduate study in either international affairs or
public policy to further a career working for the U.S. government in international issues. This
summer, she is interning at the U.S. Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus.
Amelia was funded by the Rockefeller Center for a summer 2012 internship, with generous
support from the Mr. E. John Rosenwald Jr. ’52 Public Affairs Internship Fund.
Executive Summary from Amelia’s final report:
This summer, I worked for the State Department in the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in
Nicosia, Cyprus. Each internship with the State Department varies greatly depending on
geographical location and office placement, and will have its own unique duties, challenges,
and rewards. What I found most enjoyable about
“The [Rockefeller Center] funding I received,
my specific placement within the Consular
along with the guidance regarding Section was that it gave me the closest
governmental internships and skill-specific interaction with local Cypriots and thereby, the
training offered, made this internship most immersive experience into the culture that
possible and gave me the preparation needed I could have asked for within the Embassy. Each
applicant that came for an interview in an
to make the most of this experience.”
attempt to come to the U.S. came from a

2. different background and had different reasons for applying, and each case was a story.
Cyprus’s geographical location close to the Middle East also meant that we saw a significant
number of applicants from Iran (whose lack of a local Embassy forces them to seek embassies
elsewhere), Saudi Arabia, North Africa, and asylum-seekers from Syria and Lebanon. Many of
these cases required ‘administrative processing’, a euphemism for further security review, and I
spent many hours drafting cables summarizing each applicant’s unique story for close
collaboration between the Embassy and other governmental agencies in D.C.
Another positive experience with my internship is more widely an introduction into the culture
of the department. Foreign service officers develop very close relations among one another,
strengthening the embassy community. As an intern, I felt greatly welcomed from the moment
I arrived, and that attitude of inclusion permeates the whole Department. Americans abroad
thrive off of one another, and experiencing that environment was very reassuring for if I seek
out a permanent career in the Foreign Service. Finally, representing the U.S. government
abroad gave me first-hand access to the very intricate political world of Cyprus. The North part
of the island, under Turkish military occupation, is split from the Republic of Cyprus by a literal
buffer zone, a line extending all across the island within which time has been frozen since the
civil war in the 1970s. Having first-hand access to this modern day ethnic conflict was invaluable
and as a government major, has given me a great case study for conflict resolution. All in all,
this summer was a great learning experience, giving me first-hand experience into a possible
career, providing me with invaluable contacts for advice and learning about a modern-day
geopolitical conflict.
Amelia Raether ‘13 works at her desk in the Consular Section of the American Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus.