Foreign Service: Alumna receives prestigious Pickering Fellowship

Luz Velazquez’s family emigrated from Latin America, forging a life in Queens. The Binghamton University alumna hopes to one day return to Latin America — as a diplomat with the U.S. Foreign Service.

The first-generation college student was recently awarded a 2022 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship, following a highly competitive nationwide contest. The fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of State and managed by the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University, supports extraordinary individuals who want to pursue a career in the Foreign Service.

When she first came to Binghamton, she wasn’t planning on a career in diplomacy.

“Truthfully, I struggled a lot finding my career path; it wasn’t a linear path by any means,” she said.

Originally from Paraguay, her parents wanted her to pursue a career that could provide economic stability. With that in mind, she chose computer science as her first major, but found herself unhappy.

“I come from a family of immigrants and have always been invested in advocacy and elevating the needs of my community — the immigrant and Latinx communities. I discovered that this was my passion, my calling, and I found myself drawn to human rights work,” she said.

A May 2021 graduate, she majored in psychology at Binghamton, with dual minors in immigration studies and Latin American and Caribbean Area Studies.

She took her first immigration studies class with Assistant Professor of Human Development Oscar Gil-Garcia, who proved foundational to her success at Binghamton. For the next three years, Velazquez joined Gil-Garcia in conducting immigration research and working on events such as Hostile Terrain 94 and the LOCO Festival, the first University event focused on refugees and human rights. She was even a co-author with Gil-Garcia of a paper published in the academic journal Latino Studies.

“All those doors were open thanks to him, and so I credit a lot of my success to him and his guidance,” she said.

An encouraging mentor, he also listened when she shared her own experiences and family story. Her brother was deported during her first year at Binghamton, which proved a difficult time for Velazquez; Gil-Garcia shared his own similar experience with family separation.

At Binghamton, Velazquez was also a Lideres Avanzando Fellow for UnidosUS, a research intern for the Institute of International Education, and a human rights and legal services intern for both the American Civic Association in Binghamton and Sheffield Hallam University Refugee Rights Hub in the United Kingdom. Funded through Binghamton’s Harpur Law Council, the six-week internship at Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre gave Velazquez the opportunity to help refugees seeking to be reunited with their families. She also conducted research and presented a paper on the impact of Westernized family ideals on family reunification, with an emphasis on polygamous relationships and de facto adoption.

“As someone who aims to enter the field of migration, this research has really opened my eyes to topics I’ve never considered before. I am truly grateful for the opportunity,” she said.

But it was her involvement as a Jewish Foundation for Education of Women (JFEW) SUNY Global Affairs Leadership Scholar that first brought her into contact with career diplomats, who are program alumni. They opened her eyes to new career opportunities that would allow her to follow her calling on a global scale, she said. Diplomacy blends all her interests into a single field: immigration, human rights, international law and policy.

She was surprised and excited when she learned that she was chosen for the Pickering Fellowship, after a challenging application process that included a rigorous interview by current and former diplomats.

The fellowship will fully cover her master’s program; She has applied to Columbia, Georgetown, American University and the New School so far, for programs in international relations, global human development and foreign service. She specifically chose schools and programs that would allow her to focus on migration and human rights in Latin America, she said.

And that’s not all; she will also receive extensive professional development opportunities, including internships, mentors and skills training. In the summer of 2023, she will intern at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., followed by a second summer internship in 2024, in which she’ll head overseas to gain hands-on experience with the Foreign Service. After earning her master’s, Velazquez will become a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, working to promote peace and prosperity around the world.

Ultimately, she would like to be posted in Latin America, working with indigenous populations there. That would draw on both her cultural heritage and her language skills: She speaks both Spanish and Guarani, an indigenous language in Paraguay.

Velazquez is getting a head start on her international future right now: She is currently in La Rioja, Spain, on a Fulbright award, teaching English to children ages 3 to 16 and exposing them to American culture along the way.

While there, she is also working as an immigration researcher for Spain’s chapter of Amnesty International and conducting research on her own Fulbright-related project concerning the dynamics and flow of migration from Morocco to Spain.

“People like Ms. Velazquez represent the present and future of this country. Students who come from underserved immigrant households often must confront myriad obstacles. It is important to me that these experiences are valued so that students can realize their potential,” Gil-Garcia said. “Working with students like Luz is the most rewarding part of being an educator. Her selection for the prestigious Pickering Fellowship illustrates how she is truly deserving of a great investment in her future, indeed, our future.”