Willkommen!

While serving her first of two years as a Foreign Service Generalist for the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Christen Machak ’04 reconnected with Senator Richard G. Lugar ’54, who was attending the recent energy security meetings hosted in that city. Machak first worked with the senator when she participated in the Richard G. Lugar Program in Politics and Public Policy in 2002. The senator’s position on the Foreign Relations Committee gave Machak insight into foreign affairs and helped propel her to the Charles Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship. Since graduating from Denison, Machak earned a master of arts in security policy from George Washington University. Now working on her first assignment for the State Department, Machak is provides logistical support to U.S. embassy operations in Berlin. In addition to making arrangements for Senator Lugar’s visit, she has supported the logistical aspects of visits by President Bush and Secretary of State Rice, and helped with the embassy’s return to its pre-World War II location. Coincidentally, Senator Lugar’s Berlin visit facilitated another “Denison moment” — Machak’s friend and Lugar Program cohort, Jon Macy ’04 ran into the senator at a Starbucks near the embassy, allowing the two to briefly reconnect.