I am confident I have eaten at more Presbyterian church potluck dinners than anyone, save a few long-serving clergy. My father, who worked as a development officer for the Presbyterian Foundation, often let me travel with him to various church and presbytery meetings. I was the true “Presbychild.” Instead of baseball cards, I counted the number of General Assembly moderators I had met, and I often shared Presbyterian jokes on the school playground. My father’s work with the charitable arm of the church also heightened my awareness of international issues. On one of those not-so-rare evenings when my father would ask my mother at the last minute to extend the family dinner from five to fifteen in order to accommodate a group from the church, I met a missionary couple, whose humanitarian work in Kenya excited and inspired me.
When it was time for the college search, I directed my attention to several highly prestigious and highly secular liberal arts colleges in the northeast. Only through an act of divine intervention did I find myself at those schools’ southern, Presbyterian sister, Davidson College, where my four-year experience could not have been better. At Davidson, known for its honor code and commitment to service, I found that a career in diplomacy is my ideal way to lead and to serve.
Selected as a Bonner Scholar, I have completed ten hours of community service every week in lieu of a work-study position on campus. The Bonner program has allowed me to volunteer in variety of positions, including as a tutor, a personal assistant to a disabled woman, and an intern at the World Affairs Council of Charlotte. Leaving campus to serve the local community has been a source of tremendous growth and spiritual renewal.
One of my most meaningful positions was at an after-school program, where I tutored Lexus, a young girl from an at-risk neighborhood. I quickly found, however, that she also tutored me. This nine-year-old girl from “across the tracks” taught me about racial issues and poverty. We were a strange pair, but a good match. I made her a Halloween costume, she taught me to play football, and we both sobbed when her mother lost her job. At the end of the year, Lexus gave me the biggest compliment: “When you got here,” she said, “you were nice and quiet, but now you’re loud and sassy, like me.” She was right — I had found my voice. I was determined to work to improve the economic situation of people like Lexus.
Davidson’s challenging and enlightening academic environment helped direct my passion for economic development to the international stage. Through a liberal-arts curriculum that has included such diverse courses as Issues in Religion and Science, International Finance and Human Rights, not only have I learned to write and to analyze complex problems, but I have also found that a career in the diplomatic corps will enable me to address the international economic and social issues about which I am most passionate.
Davidson encouraged me to dream big and then helped me follow my passions around the world. After my first year, Davidson awarded me a grant to study the 2005 riots and immigrant integration issues in France. I also studied abroad with the Davidson in Peru program. In Arequipa, Peru, I learned about the challenges of economic development, as a volunteer in a Ministry of Health clinic and as a student at the public university. I also received a Davidson grant to travel to four South American countries to study the region’s cultural and religious differences, and this past December, my Insurgencies and Counterinsurgencies seminar group traveled to Colombia to study the country’s security threats.
Leadership has also been central to my experience at Davidson. Elected president of my class, I have learned the value of inclusive leadership. In good Presbyterian fashion, I have often employed a committee structure for decision-making, and I have learned that a diverse committee can help create more community buy-in and long-lasting support for policy changes.
The students on campus have also contributed greatly to my college experience. My closest friends come from all corners of the world and represent a variety of faith traditions, and their diversity has significantly broadened my worldview. Having a double PK as my best college friend, though, has been an essential part of maintaining my Presbyterian identity.
Most importantly, my Davidson education has prepared me for a life of leadership and service. As a Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellow with the U.S. Department of State, I have won a four and one-half year appointment as a Foreign Service Officer, and this summer (2009), I will begin my work in Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Operations Center. My Davidson education also made me a successful applicant for President Harry Truman’s memorial scholarship for leadership and service. Speaking comfortably about how my Christian faith informs my intention to promote international cooperation and economic development impressed the interview panel.
Four years ago, when my parents spoke of the transformative power of their experiences at Presbyterian Pikeville College, it was difficult to imagine what a meaningful time it was for them. After Davidson, where the culmination of community service, strong academics, international study, leadership experience, and a diverse friend circle has enabled me to discover diplomacy as my ideal way to serve the Prince of Peace, I understand my parents’ sentiments completely. Though potluck dinners may soon be replaced by state dinners, my faith-inspired goal to foster peace and economic empowerment remains solid.
Richmond Blake received a B.A. in political science from Davidson College in Davidson, N.C., in June 2009. In fall 2009, he will enter the Kennedy School at Harvard University to pursue a master’s degree in public policy, focusing on international and global affairs.
