Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service

Ana Janaina Nelson was born and raised in the central Brazilian Amazon. “Though Manaus is the capital city of the state of Amazonas, it is very isolated. There is only one road out of the city and it leads to Venezuela,” she remarks with a smile. While an undergraduate at the University of Brasilia, she pursued her interest in global politics at the Carter Center’s Americas Program as well as the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations.

I couldn't be more excited, and I owe my current success to the amazing opportunity that is a Georgetown education.

After graduating with a B.A. in international relations, Jana began to look at Masters’ programs, and her search kept leading her back to Georgetown. “My grandmother, who is an educator, told me that Georgetown’s academic reputation was unparalleled,” Jana remembers. “She also believed that the diverse student body and location in a vibrant cosmopolitan community would make me feel at home. I think she should have added D.C.’s humidity to the list—during the summer, it’s just like the Brazilian Amazon.”

Jana applied to the Master’s program at the Center for Latin American Studies and was accepted. “I chose SFS over other schools not only because of its academic strength, but also because I wanted a chance to work with the experienced policymakers teaching here. I chose Latin American Studies because it is my goal to help break down the linguistic and geographic barriers that often isolate Brazil from the rest of South and Central America.”

Jana was awarded a full-tuition scholarship from the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD), a Portuguese institution working to promote relations between Portugal, the United States, and former Portuguese colonies. “I will forever be grateful for the FLAD award,” she says. “Without it, I would not have been able to attend Georgetown, and I would not have had the opportunity to apply for the Presidential Management Fellowship, which I received.”

Having completed her M.A. in spring 2009, Jana will be beginning her two year term as a Presidential Management Fellow in the fall. In the meantime, she will be working on Capitol Hill. “I have taken classes on congressional decision-making and follow congressional politics closely, but I strongly believe that real experience on the Hill is essential for anyone working in the Washington policy community. I couldn’t be more excited, and I owe my current success to the amazing opportunity that is a Georgetown education.”