UNG alumna wins Pickering Fellowship

Katherine Torres, '21, has earned the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship. She is one of 45 selections for the honor.

Funded by the U.S. Department of State, the fellowship attracts and prepares outstanding young people for Foreign Service careers. It is the fourth nationally competitive scholarship for Torres, who is currently teaching English in Taiwan through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

"We are so proud of all the work she put in as an applicant, including the three mock interviews she managed to squeeze in after her Fulbright teaching hours and despite the 13-hour time difference," Dr. Anastasia Lin, assistant vice president of research and engagement, said.

Torres, originally from Hoschton, Georgia, will receive up to $42,000 annually for a two-year period to complete a master's degree program and participate in two summer internships designed to support her in becoming an excellent Foreign Service Officer. As a Pickering fellow, she has agreed to work with the Department of State's Foreign Service for a minimum of five years.

Having access to a mentor in the Foreign Service through the fellowship will propel me in pursuing leadership opportunities within the State Department.

Katherine Torres

2021 UNG alumna

"I am very thankful for my professors, the Nationally Competitive Scholarships office and the Center for Global Engagement at UNG for preparing me for the fellowship by providing opportunities for me to enhance my professional skillsets," Torres said. "Having access to a mentor in the Foreign Service through the fellowship will propel me in pursuing leadership opportunities within the State Department. I look forward to serving our country through the State Department."

Torres is a distinguished graduate of UNG's Honors Program.

While Torres pursued a degree in political science with a pre-law concentration with the plan to enter law school, her decision changed after participating in the Cox-State Diplomacy Seminar. There she met members of the State Department and current Foreign Service Officers as well as partook in simulations.

UNG alumna Melissa Silva,'19, joined Torres among the 90 finalists for the Pickering Fellowship. Silva is also a finalist for the Charles B. Rangel Graduate Fellowship Program, which aims to attract and prepare outstanding young people for careers in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State.

Silva earned a degree in modern languages with a Spanish language and literature concentration and was part of the UNG Realizing Inspiring and Successful Educators (RISE) program. After her time in Kyrgyzstan on a Fulbright scholarship, she completed several post-baccalaureate courses in education, and she currently teaches Spanish in Hall County, Georgia.