ARHU Alum Awarded Foreign Service Fellowship

History grad Julie Choi ’20 will pursue master’s study abroad, foreign service.

By Ellin Chung 

Julie Choi ’20 was among 45 recipients of the 2024 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship, which provides up to $104,000 for a two-year master’s degree along with overseas and domestic internships, then an appointment as a Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Department of State. 

Since 2011, UMD has had 10 Rangel Fellows. 

After graduating from UMD with a double-major in government and politics and history, Choi was a Rangel Scholar, then worked in advocacy for about a year with the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area, researching and publishing articles on Asian American topics during the rise in anti-Asian sentiments.

She is now a Fulbright U.S. Student Program English teaching assistant in South Korea, from which she emigrated at age 3 with her parents. After a third year in this program working with North Korean defectors, she will begin a master’s program in Fall 2025.

Choi’s main goal in the Foreign Service is to help broaden the voices that represent the United States abroad and reflect the rich diversity of the country. “It’s a huge advantage to have a diverse nation, and we need to use that. I want to encourage other Asian Americans, especially women of color, to join the Foreign Service.”

A version of this story originally appeared in Maryland Today.