Swearing In

Post by J

Yesterday was the last day of A-100, and the culminating event was the swearing in ceremony. Secretary of State John Kerry did the honors in the Dean Acheson auditorium at the Main State building in Washington, D.C.

Secretary Kerry addressing the class.

The Groundbreaking 179th A-100 class.

Wyoming Senators Enzi and Barrasso couldn't attend, but sent representatives (Coy Knobel from Enzi's office and Amber Bland from Barrasso's) to the ceremony to witness the swearing in. It was really nice to have fellow Wyomingites in the crowd cheering me on.

I learned a lot in the last six weeks, and I'm sure there are things I won't even realize that I learned until later. We had terrific instructors and, although some of the sessions were long and/or dense, I know I got at least a little out of each one.

Before the swearing in ceremony, our class decided on its motto: Laying the foundation for a life of service. I love this motto! After all, service is the reason I joined the State Department.

I'll be in training for quite some time; I start on Spanish at the end of October. Language training is the bulk of the months ahead for me and I'm excited to get started!  I'm really looking forward to learning to speak and read a new language that's so useful. Plus, R will join me in Washington to start the abbreviated Spanish course the same time I start the full course.

It's official: I'm a Foreign Service Officer.

Links to the State Department's photos of the event on Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/statephotos/15244209408/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/statephotos/15427615781/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/statephotos/15407738346/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/statephotos/15430797915/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/statephotos/15430796465/