“While at the wws_saoc retreat, I was particularly excited about the opportunity to chat with Ambassador James I. Gadsden MCF '85. As a Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellow, I will enter the U.S. Foreign Service in 2021. Amb. Gadsden was more than willing to spend a large part of the day chatting with us who were interested in the #foreignservice about all things related to the statedept, his career, and some challenges he faced along the way. I am incredibly grateful for how forthcoming he was, and for his concrete guidance. I will surely keep it with me as I venture into that #career after graduation. The SAOC retreat was a rejuvenating, intellectually stimulating, and wholesome experience for me. As a first-generation Mexican-American, #mentorship has played a large role in my academic and professional life. Without my mentors, I would have never known about nor pushed myself to pursue different opportunities. The retreat re-emphasized for me the importance of not only maintai...