International Security
Prague is her favorite city, with Barcelona second, and graduating senior Lynn Jo ought to know since she's visited about fifteen countries, and over twenty-five cities throughout the world. It was this discovered love of travel that led her to Penn State from Houston, and to an early decision on a double major: International Politics and Spanish.
"I hadn't even come here for a visit," she recalls. "It was totally unfamiliar. When my parents drove off, my mother was really upset and hid her face. My father played the strong figure, trying not to cry. I'm the oldest and it was hard for them."
But they probably somewhat expected it. When Jo was a freshman
in high school, her parents moved to Warsaw, Poland, because her father, a petroleum engineer, was sent there to establish his U.S. parent company's subsidiary oil and gas operation. During her two years there, she became involved in a host of sports teams and clubs, which enabled her to travel extensively. She also participated in Model United Nations, where students from all over the world visit The Hague for a week. Grouped into teams, the students are assigned a particular country with a set of problems that they must resolve through resolutions.
"Being in that community and meeting people from all over the world is what really sparked my interest in some type of international work," says Jo.
And the fact that Jo has an excellent aptitude for language acquisition certainly doesn't hurt. Fluent in English and Korean due to her bilingual family, Jo is also fluent in French and Spanish, and has a colloquial knowledge of Russian and Polish. Although she knew that languages were her first love, she didn't know how exactly to pursue this interest. So when an adviser e-mailed her about a panel discussion—sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts—and she perused the list of speakers, Rick Strobel's name stood out.
"I was curious about Interpol since I had no idea what they did," says Jo. "So I met Rick and we talked and at the end of the conversation, he asked if I'd be interested in an internship. Since I was only a sophomore, I was a little hesitant—but it pretty much fell into my lap and I decided to go."
At Interpol Jo did some translations, and helped out as a liaison on several cases. She says the most exciting one was helping to find the source of an illegal prescription drug ring through DEA, one of the many agencies that Interpol works with. Part of the internship included going around to all of the agencies and seeing how they operated. She came back with a much better idea of what a career in government could offer, especially in the offices of the Department of Foreign Service and the NSA (National Security Agency). She'll graduate in May 2006, after spending her last semester in Spain.
Since her internship, she stays in touch with Rick Strobel through occasional e-mails and they get together when he's on campus. Although he says she's "still a work in progress," about a specific career, there's no question of her broad interests.
"I thrive on change. I love to go new places, learn about different cultures, and meet new people," she says. "When I go somewhere new, I want to submerge myself in the culture and the language—and I've learned people in those countries really appreciate it."