Mapping a Career in Foreign Policy

On April 12, Raymond Marolt ’14 (History) joined a group of Global Commerce and History majors for a lively Zoom conversation about foreign-policy related careers. Ray shared his own experiences since graduating from Denison, including the wisdom he has picked up along the way and the things he wished he had known as an undergrad about building a path toward a career in foreign policy.

Topics covered ranged from the value on on-the-ground international experience and immersive language learning, the need to always be open to new opportunities, and the importance of choosing a top graduate program if you want your career path to lead to Washington, D.C.

Ray has learned all of these lessons in the course of a post-Denison life that has taken him from Peru to Boston and now to Washington, D.C. His experience as a Peace Corps volunteer and student of international relations prompted him to pursue a career in international policy. Serving as a goodwill ambassador to Peru during his Peace Corps tenure solidified his motivation to build on his experiences and interests in the region of South America.

During his service, he addressed human development issues by designing programs related to food security and education. In this way, he was able to foster understanding between the Peruvian and American people.

Convinced that he wanted to continue working on US policy, Ray attended The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy where he focused on security studies and development. To fully explore career paths in international policy, he interned at Embassy Lima in the summer of 2019. While there, he analyzed the impact of the Venezuela Crisis on the region and interacted with political officers to ensure that the US was informed and engaged in handling the largest humanitarian crisis in the Americas.

Currently, Ray is working with Guidehouse out of Washington, D.C., where he works as a consultant on both national and international policy issues, giving guidance to state and local government as well as federal clients.