A Visit from the Ambassador

Sixth graders around the Harkness table in Pat Coyle's history classroom could scarcely contain their eager questions when they were joined for the day by Stephen Schwartz, a veteran U.S. Foreign Service officer in Africa and the former U.S. Ambassador to Somalia. 

The Africa expert's visit was facilitated by a Shore family who are related to Schwartz, and it was timed perfectly: the sixth grade history curriculum includes significant study of Africa, particularly Sudan, the setting for one of the students' core texts, A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park. Schwartz has enjoyed a long career with the U.S. Department of State in the Africa region, and was enthusiastic about sharing his experiences with the students.
 
With a background that includes 10 years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon as well as time spent as a Peace Corps Desk Officer for the Africa Region and as a research assistant in the Africa Program for the Brookings Institute, Schwartz began his career with the Department of State in 1992, when he worked as a Political Officer in Ethiopia. Other assignments included posts in Sudan, Burundi, South Africa, Mauritius, and Cuba. From 2008–2010, he was Deputy Director for the Office of Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Island Affairs; in 2015–2016, he was the director of that office. From 2010–2013, he was the Deputy Chief of Mission for Zambia. From 2013–2015, Schwartz was the Director of the Office of West African Affairs. Most recently, in June 2016, he was sworn in as the first U.S. Ambassador to Somalia in 25 years. He retired from that post in November 2017.

According to Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who delivered remarks at Schwartz's swearing-in as Somalia ambassador in 2016, then-President Barack Obama chose Schwartz—"a diplomat of unmatched caliber and a public servant of unrivaled heart"—specifically to support the "relentless efforts by Somali leaders, their African neighbors, the United Nations, and the United States to support a functioning central government, defeat a deadly terrorist threat, rebuild a shattered economy, and pave the way for Somalis to claim an inclusive and democratic future." Schwartz, the first U.S. Ambassador to Somalia since the infamous 1993 "Black Hawk Down" battle, when 18 U.S. soldiers died, is credited with laying the groundwork for a renewed American presence in the country, focused on advising and supporting Somali troops in the field against Islamic militants.

In his conversations with Shore students, Schwartz shared stories and advice from throughout his career. From his favorite cuisines (Cuba and Ethiopia) to his brushes with danger (a carjacking in Burundi), sixth graders were eager to learn all they could from this experienced diplomat. History teacher Pat Coyle, for his part, was delighted to have a visitor in his classroom who was able so emphatically to demonstrate the value in Shore's robust curriculum in U.S. and world history, and who was also able to underscore the importance of the faculty's relentless focus on written and verbal communications—perhaps the most important tools in a diplomat's arsenal, emphasized Schwartz.

The large number of ways in which he's put those tools to good use as part of the Foreign Service was a surprise to the students. Schwartz explained, "In Ethiopia, I spent a year in the Consular Section doing visa interviews for Ethiopians who wanted to travel to the United States. We'd also help American citizens who were in legal trouble in the country, and we'd even help families whose relative died overseas, making arrangements to have the deceased taken back to the United States to be buried." Schwartz spent some of his time in Africa working with refugee populations, trying to understand the political conditions in an area and helping those whose human rights had been violated. And in Burundi, he said, he helped to run the embassy itself, "having water tanks put in, ordering supplies, renting houses—a million different things." 

He enjoyed the variety in his assignments: "Working with the local government, with American businesses, with the military was an incredibly exciting opportunity." Sixth graders were interested to hear how Schwartz would have been involved when an American citizen ended up in jail; they cited the current example of three UCLA basketball players—LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley, and Jalen Hill—who were arrested in China after being accused of shoplifting.

"In situations like that one," he explained, "we'd initially try to visit the American citizens in prison to ensure they were being treated fairly. We'd probably provide them with a list of local lawyers they could contact for help in court. And we'd do what we could to see that they received a fair trial as quickly as possible." However, Schwartz noted, if an American commits a crime according to the laws of another country, then there's little U.S. diplomats can do except ensure they receive fair treatment; if they're found guilty, they'll be punished.

Students were eager to hear how Schwartz found his way to a diplomatic career primarily in Africa. "After I graduated from college with a business degree," he told them, "I traveled in Europe with a friend, and it was then I realized that I knew almost nothing about the world. Before then, I had really only traveled in the United States and Canada." The more he traveled, he said, "the more I realized there was a whole globe out there, with billions of people and countless cultures and languages—and it was fascinating to me. I knew I wanted to understand the rest of the world better."

When he returned from that eye-opening European trip, Schwartz joined the Peace Corps as a volunteer. Established in 1961 by President John. F. Kennedy, the Peace Corps arranges for American citizens, typically college graduates, to live and work in developing countries for a period of two years, providing technical assistance, working toward mutual cultural understanding, and helping with social and economic development. Schwartz served his two years in Cameroon, and after discovering his own interest in Africa, he pursued graduate studies that led to his career in the Foreign Service. This part of Schwartz's story resonated for the sixth graders, many of whom were already familiar with the Peace Corps from stories of their parents and other relatives. One student was inspired to ask, "Can we join?"

"Perhaps in a few years," Schwartz assured the student. "Volunteers have to be 18."

The distance from the Peace Corps to the Foreign Service was not all that far, Schwartz told the sixth graders. He had met diplomats while volunteering in Cameroon, and he realized that their job—representing America in another country—was, in fact, much of what he'd been doing as a Peace Corps volunteer. The only challenge in his making a career in the Foreign Service was the entrance exam, he admitted. There are two components to the test, one written and one oral. "The first time I took the exam, I passed the written and failed the oral. The second time, I failed the written. Finally, on my third try, I passed both."

The Foreign Service exam, Schwartz explained, is notable in what it does—and does not—expect applicants to know. He quizzed sixth graders on what they thought would be required, and while many guessed foreign languages and detailed cultural knowledge of a given country would be key, Schwartz revealed that the exam actually looks at applicants' performance in much more abstract areas, such as composure, cultural adaptability, leadership, analysis, integrity, and cooperative ability.

Perhaps most significant in the exam, he told the students, is English-language communication, both verbal and written; also essential are knowledge of U.S. history, government, society, and economics. "A diplomat's entire job is communication," he emphasized, "and communicating the point of view of the United States government to another country." The Foreign Service can teach new recruits another language or important details about another country, but, said Schwartz, "what they can't teach you is how to be an effective communicator with a clear understanding of our nation's history and culture."

Hearing this, and seeing his students so engaged in discussion around the Harkness table, history teacher Pat Coyle smiled. Future diplomats or not, his sixth graders would certainly be prepared to meet the world.
Back


    • Schwartz talking with students in Pat Coyle's sixth grade history class

    • Deputy Secretary of State Antony “Tony” Blinken swearing in Schwartz as the new U.S. Ambassador to Somalia in a ceremony at the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C., on June 27, 2017

    • Schwartz with Somalia's president, Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmaajo" Mohamed

Shore Country Day School

545 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915
(978) 927-1700
Shore Country Day School’s mission is to provide an education that inspires a love of learning and encourages children to embrace academic challenge. We seek to build character, cultivate creativity, and value diversity as we help our children become healthy, compassionate citizens of the world.
The School admits qualified students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law, and extends to them all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its admissions, scholarships, and loans, and its educational, athletic, and other programs.