Rollie Sterrett introduce Kaitlin and her mother, Nancy. Kaitlin is an alumna of the Rotary YEX. Our club sponsored her exchange in Barcelona, Spain in 2002. Kaitlin was a student at Avon High School. When she graduate from AHS she went to George Washington University and then entered the Foreign Service in 2005. She is currently serving in Soeul, South Korea. She speaks Spanish and Chinese and is learning Korean. Her husband, Alex, is a TV producer.
Kaitlin was speaking to us live from Soeul where it was 9 PM. She said that the year in Barcelona influenced the rest of her life. She was shy and bookish when she left for Spain. Although she had traveled abroad before, this was the first time by herself. She was warmly welcomed by her host family. At 16, the transition was hard for the first few months. Being in a city was very different from living in Avon. She attended the public school taking 10 classes. Half were in Spanish and half in Catalan, the local dialect. She studied history by translating from Catalan to Spanish to English. She learned what being an outsider felt like.
Her host family lived in a good part of Barcelona not far from the US Embassy. Many protests were taking place due to the US invasion of Iraq. She learned how to avoid the riots and protests and learned how to defend her US ideals.
YEX changed the trajectory of her life. She considered attending the University of Madrid after Avon HS, but decided to attend GWU. She had always enjoyed language study, but a professor at GWU talked with her about the Foreign Service. Even though she was young, she decided to take the Foreign Service written exam. She passed the test and went on to the interview stage. Her experience in Barcelona helped her pass the interview phase, and she became an FSO.
Her first assignment was in Montevideo, Uruguay where she did a lot of regional travel. The local dialect of Spanish was accented quite differently than she was accustomed. After Uruguay, she returned to HQ in Washington DC. She spent a year with Chinese immersion. She went to China and lived about 2 hours north of Hong Kong. She handled VISAs for Americans working in China.
Back in DC, she worked for Consular Affairs as a staff assistant. She learned a lot about power while working during the attack in Paris. She served as the liaison between Americans in Paris and their families. She learned to prioritize emergencies. She was rewarded by an assignment to Bogata Columbia work with families seeking to adopt children.
Her current assignment is in Korea in the head office protecting American citizens. She works with the military on plans for non-combatant evacuations. She lives in the garrison on Kunsan Air Force Base. She has only just completed quarantine after arriving about two weeks ago. The Covid-19 restrictions are very stringent. They have had top order in their food and were not able to leave their quarters.
Craig Buhrendorf asked whether she needed to learn Korean and whether North Korea influences her activities. Kaitlin said this is the first assignment where speaking the local language is not important, but most of her job is because of the proximity of North Korea.
Rollie Sterrett said he was very proud of what she has done. He wanted to know what her husband, Alex, does. Alex works with cable news programming. He works late at night and early in the morning creating programming. Rollie remembered having to work with Avon HS staff to ensure that she received full credit for her school work in Barcelona. Kaitlin said she met regular with the Rotary club in Barcelona. No other YEX students were near her, but she met them while traveling around Spain.
Kershwin Singh about her impressions from helping US citizens. Could she recommend how US citizens and our country could better present itself to produce a better image. Kaitlin said that using Social Media better would help since that's the most usual method of communication.
Craig Buhrendorf asked how South Korea is handling COVID-19. Kaitlin said she gets daily reports. South Korea does a lot of testing and contact tracing. Everyone wears a mask. She said the last report showed only 50 cases a day in all of South Korea.
Sarah Leathers asked about quarantine and the local food. Kaitlin said the local hearty stews were very good.
