If you had to describe Frederick Hawkins, JD ’11, it would have to be motivated and dedicated. In 2008, Hawkins began his legal education at Miami Law, where he received the Public Interest and the Robert H. Waters Scholarships. During his law school career, he was actively engaged in activities such as serving on the Executive Committee of the Miami Law Ambassadors.
During his three years at Miami Law, Hawkins also obtained significant practical experience as the Haiti Temporary Protected Status Project Coordinator and Legal Fellow for the Miami Law Health Rights Clinic; Honors Legal Intern for the United States Department of Defense, Office of General Counsel at the Pentagon in Washington D.C.; and as a Litigation Intern for the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Trial Division in Miami.
Upon graduating cum laude from Miami Law in 2011, Hawkins was among 850 students from schools throughout the country (out of over 9,100 individuals who applied) selected as a finalist for the federal Presidential Management Fellows Program. The prestigious PMF program was established to attract outstanding men and women from a variety of academic disciplines and career paths who possess a clear commitment to excellence in the leadership and management of public policies and programs.
As a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF), Hawkins accepted a position as a Foreign Affairs Officer with the U.S. Department of State in the Visa Office, Post Liaison Division – within the Consular Affairs Bureau in Washington, D.C. In this role, he works on immigration policy related to the administration of the visa program and coordinates with the Department of Homeland Security on a range of issues. Hawkins provides policy and procedural guidance to U.S. embassies and consulates regarding the issuance of immigrant and non-immigrant visas and works most closely with consular posts in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Hawkins completed the PMF Program in 2012 and has remained at the State Department in an immigration policy role.
“In the almost four years I've been with the State Department, I've worked at U.S. Embassies in Bogota, Colombia and Lima, Peru; the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba; the U.S. Mission to the United Nations; the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai, China; and the G-8 Summit at Camp David,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins said that he believed what helped him was that he had access to PMF alumni who had gone through the process and they were able to explain it to him in terms of what to expect and how to prepare.
Prior to attending Miami Law, Hawkins obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Columbia University, where he was awarded full tuition under the Program for Academic Leadership and Service and was twice selected for the Community Service Award. Three years later, Hawkins obtained a Master of Public Administration degree in Government, Politics, and Policy Studies from Cornell University.
Hawkins is fluent in Spanish and worked as an English Language Instructor at the Centro Cultural Idiomas de Ruge in Caracas, Venezuela for six months in 2008. He was also in the military where he served as a Naval Special Warfare (SEALs) Intelligence Analyst, Naval Special Clearance Team 1 for three years in San Diego, California and as Intelligence Analyst on the USS Independence for three years in Yokosuka, Japan.
Hawkins’s commitment to public service and interest in international issues has all made him a valuable asset to the State Department.
