SFS Stories

Oral Histories

  • Under Secretary of State David Hale (SFS’83)

    Under Secretary of State David Hale (SFS’83)

    Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale (SFS’83) was in former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s first class at Georgetown, where he learned basic principles that still guide him today. “She taught me that our nation’s strength is based on our values, the strength of our economy and the strength of our military,”…

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  • Helene Mallett (SFS’59)

    Helene Mallett (SFS’59)

    Helene Mallett (SFS’59) was one of the first classes of women admitted to the SFS (although women had already been admitted to night classes since the 1940s). She helped establish the Foreign Service Women’s Association, which worked to earn respect for the first few classes of SFS women.

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  • Representative Henry Cuellar TX-28 (SFS’78)

    Representative Henry Cuellar TX-28 (SFS’78)

    Representative Henry Cuellar (SFS’78) says that SFS provided the foundation that he and many other public servants have built upon in their careers.

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  • Harry Bridges (SFS’51)

    Harry Bridges (SFS’51)

    Harry Bridges (SFS’51) was a student in one of the last geopolitics classes taught by Father Walsh at Georgetown. Bridges expresses that Father Walsh sharing his stories was fascinating.

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  • Dr. Christina Hanna (SFS’08)

    Dr. Christina Hanna (SFS’08)

    Dr. Christina Hanna (SFS’08) Combines SFS Education with Pediatric Oncology.

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  • Frank Murray (SFS’72)

    Frank Murray (SFS’72)

    1968-1972 was “a calamitous period in American history, in higher education history, in Washington, DC and on the Georgetown University campus,” says Frank Murray (SFS’72).

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  • General George Casey, Jr. (SFS’70)

    General George Casey, Jr. (SFS’70)

    General George Casey, Jr. (ret.) (SFS’70) is a four-star general who served the US Army for 41 years after he graduated from the SFS. He felt that it was his duty to serve after his father was killed during the Vietnam War.

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  • Reilly Dowd (SFS’13)

    Reilly Dowd (SFS’13)

    Reilly Dowd (SFS’13) decided to come to the SFS because she was “obsessed with politics and a total news junkie.” Dowd spent four years directing and producing Dreams of Daraa, a feature film documentary that follows a young Syrian mother and her three children.

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  • Stéphane Dujarric (SFS’88)

    Stéphane Dujarric (SFS’88)

    Stéphane Dujarric (SFS’88), has served as the spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General since 2014. Dujarric is reminded of the value of his Georgetown education everyday.

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  • Mark Hetfield (SFS’88)

    Mark Hetfield (SFS’88)

    Mark Hetfield (SFS’88) is the President and CEO of HIAS, a Jewish nonprofit that provides resettlement assistance to refugees arriving in the United States. Hetfield says his biggest regret is graduating in three years.

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