Stephanie Sobek, a political science major at The Ohio State University, was named a 2012 Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellow. As a Pickering Fellow, Stephanie will be continuing her education at Harvard University pursuing a Master's in Middle Eastern Studies. Her focus will be on the democratic process in the Middle East and how the concept of democracy differs between the Middle East and the West. Next summer, Stephanie will have a domestic internship with the State Department. During the following summer she will be interning in the U.S. embassy abroad, most likely in the Middle East.

The Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program funds individuals and guides them as they prepare professionally and academically to work for the United States Department of State Foreign Service. The Program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Their mission statement is "The Department of State seeks a Foreign Serivce that represents America in world affairs with citizens who reflect the diversity and excellence of our society. The Program seeks to recruit talented students in academic programs relevant to international affairs, political and economic analysis, administration, management, and science policy. The goal is to attract outstanding students from all ethnic, racial and social backgrounds who have an interest in pursuing a Foreign Service career in the U.S. Department of State. The Fellowship develops a source of trained men and women from academic disciplines representing the skill needs of the Department who are dedicated to representing America's interests abroad." To learn more about the Pickering Fellowship please visit the following website.