College of Arts and Sciences graduate Elaine Golden has parlayed her love of numbers and people into a prestigious scholarship and a bright future.
The math and international studies major at the University of Miami, who also studied Hindi through the Directed Independent Language Study Program, will be heading to Princeton University this fall.
Golden will be pursuing a Master of Public Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs before becoming a U.S. Foreign Service Officer.
Golden earned a 2014 Thomas R. Pickering Undergraduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship, one of just 20 granted nationwide. It provides tuition support for Fellows’ senior year of college and first year of graduate school, and offers recipients one internship in America and one abroad. Upon completing their master’s degree, Fellows commit to five years in the Foreign Service.
“The Pickering Fellowship is a tremendous honor and an absolute dream come true,” Golden said. “I intend to take full advantage of the opportunity to pursue my master’s degree and intern with the State Department to become a high-caliber Foreign Service Officer. Thanks to this fellowship, I get to look forward to a career in which I promote U.S. interests abroad and positively influence our foreign policy.”
During her time at UM, Golden was an active global citizen. She interned with the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. State Department and her congresswoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz. These experiences allowed her to hone her strong analytical and interpersonal skills.
On campus, Golden was involved with Model United Nations, through which she received multiple awards, and STRIVE (Serving Together Reaching Integrity, Values & Engagement)—a living-and-learning community coordinated by the Butler Center for Volunteer Service and Leadership Development and Pearson Residential College. Participants in the STRIVE program are committed to civic engagement, volunteer service, and leadership endeavors.
It is just one UM experience for which Golden is grateful.
“UM has provided me with countless opportunities to grow and learn during my four years here,” she said. “It’s truly great to be a Miami Hurricane, and I intend to represent our University well during my career in public service.”
