Careers

Every Spring Semester alumni return to UMW for a career panel.

They talk about their experiences, their work, and how UMW got them there. Students may ask questions, get contacts, and learn more about the possibilities they have available to them.

On March 28 2019, the department conducted its 2019 Career Day Panel, as featured above, drawing some 60 majors. Five departmental alumni offered advice on careers and graduate school. They are Brianne Doura (‘09), Legislative Director, National Council on Problem Gambling; Alissa Genovese (’07), Grants Manager, Department of Justice; Kenyon Huber-Wilker (’18), Solution Engineer-National Security, Esri; John Karellas (’17), Law student, Catholic University; Jeremy Thompson (’13), Global Social Partnerships and Community Strategy, Under Armor.

On March 24 2021, the department hosted a virtual Career Day panel! The recording may be found here:

Click here for the link. Passcode: O?7PWK1a

The Spring 2020 Career Panel was cancelled due to COVID-19, so our graduates have compiled lists of “dos and don’ts” for interviews and some tips for applying to graduate programs in place of the panel. Check them out!

Job Application/Interview Do’s and Don’ts by Kate Miceli ’13

Job and Graduate School Tips by Caitiorna Cobb ’17

Career Advancement During Social Distancing by Stacey Whitehouse ’12

The list provided below indicates what some but by no means all of our graduates are doing and have done in the “real world.” The diversity of jobs listed illustrates the wide range of career options available to majors in International Affairs and Political Science. Overall, the professional achievements of our graduates provide graphic testimony to the quality of our programs and of our majors. To check out where our students go to graduate school and law school, click here.

The College Professors

• Professor of Political Science, Bucknell University
• Professor of Political Science and former Department Chair, U.S. Naval Academy
• Professor of Political Science, Middle Tennessee State University

Peace Corps

• Political Science and International Affairs graduates have volunteered in:
• Niger
• Ukraine
• Panama
• Mongolia
• Panama
• East Timor
• Micronesia
• Russia
• Uzbekistan

Nonprofit Organizations

• Teach for America, Washington, DC
• Fund for the Public Interest, Canvassing Director, Washington, DC
• Turn the Page, Washington, DC
• University of Mary Washington, Information Technologies
• Teacher, Commonwealth Academy, Alexandria, VA
• Teacher, Fairfax County, VA, Public Schools
• Teacher, Oakcrest School, McLean, VA
• Director of Annual Giving, Thiel College, Greenville, PA
• Literacy Instructor, People’s Emergency Center, Philadelphia
• Genocide Intervention Fund, Philadelphia
• Sierra Club, Washington D.C.
• Sierra Club, St. Petersburg, FL
• Associate Director, West Middle School Committee Inc., Hartford, Connecticut
• Legislative Liaison, New Jersey Center for Outreach and Services for the Autism Community
• Regional Assistant for Africa, Population and Health Center of USAID
• Program Coordinator, Institute for Educational Leadership
• Research Assistant, Population Action International
• Development Coordinator, Hudson Valley, New York, Visiting Nurses Association
• Los Angeles GAIN Welfare-to-Work Program
• Teach for America in Indianola, Mississippi
• Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations

Current and Recent Congressional Staffers and Campaign Workers

• Office of U.S. Rep., Eric Cantor, R-Va
• Iowa staff, John Edwards (D) for President 2008 Campaign
• Barack Obama (D) for President 2008 Campaign
• Office of U.S. Senator James Webb, D-VA
• Staff Assistant, U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor
• Iowa staff, John Edwards (D) for President 2008 Campaign
• Staffer, Forward Together Political Action Committee
• Gov. Mark Warner’s PAC
• U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-VA, campaign
• Office of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-TX
• Office of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-NC
• Republican Staff, U.S. Senate Committee on Education and Labor
• Democratic Staff, U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs
• Republican Staff, U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee
• Republican Staff, U.S. House Government Reform Committee
• Rules Committee, U.S. House of Representatives
• Office of U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-TX
• Office of U.S. Rep. David Dreier, R-CA
• Office of U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-CT
• Press Secretary, Office of U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-TX
• Office of U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshoff, R-MO
• Office of U.S. Rep. John Shadegg, R-AZ
• U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) campaign
• U.S. Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) for President 2004 Campaign
• Formerly in the office of U.S. Sen. John Warner, R-VA
• Formerly in the office of U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-VA
• Washington political consultant, formerly Field Director, Ben Jones (D-VA) for Congress Campaign
• Deputy campaign manager, John Neely Kennedy’s campaign for governor of Louisiana
• Caitlin Ulmer (formerly Campaign Worker, Georgia Democratic Party

The National Security Positions

• US Ambassador to Peru
• US Ambassador to Oman
• Deputy Secretary in the Bureau of Political and Military Affairs
• Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State
• Central Intelligence Agency
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Department of Defense
• US  special envoy to the six party talks on North Korean denuclearization
• U.S. Military Attaché, Hong Kong
• U.S. Department of State: Program Coordinator in the Office of Private Sector Exchange
• U.S. Marine Corps
• Management Analysis Technologies Inc.
• Technical Analysis Center, Inc.
• U.S. State Department

Journalism & Media

• CNN, Washington Bureau
• Fox News, Washington Bureau
• News Director and Anchor, KCCO-TV, Alexandria, Minnesota
• News & Advance, Lynchburg, VA,
• WFHS-FM, Landover, MD
• Free-Lance Star, Fredericksburg, VA
• The Examiner, Washington, DC
• Thomson Reuters

Virginia Government

• Assistant to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine
• Virginia Trade Office, Budapest, Hungary
• Assistant to Virginia Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania
• General Registrar, Fauquier County, VA
• Assistant to Virginia Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle

The Other Professionals

• Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Global Treasury Sales at Bank of America stationed in London
• Research Associate, Portland-Communications
• Senior Vice President and General Counsel at the Export-Import Bank of the United States
• Legislative Coordinator, Stateside Associates
• Associated General Contractors
• The Atlantic’s 2009 Aspen Ideas Festival
• Development Coordinator, America Abroad Media
• Adams, Hussey and Associates, public relations
• AP history teacher, Fredericksburg City schools
• National Association of Children’s Hospitals
• Director of Legislative Affairs, Visiting Nurse Association of America
• National Association of Counties
• Richmond lobbyist, National Federation of Independent Business
• Contracts Analyst, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Washington office, Dell Inc.
• U.S. Department of Education, Seattle office
• Press Secretary / Director of Communications for Mayor Stephen Reed, Harrisburg, PA.
• 21st Century Democrats
• Rhoads Weber Shandwick, Government Relations
• International Projects Associate, Development Alternatives Inc., Washington
• Bank of America
• Booz Allen Hamilton
• Dombroff and Gilmore law firm, DC
• paralegal, Appeals Bureau, New York District Attorney
• Washington lobbyist in private practice
• Legal Assistant, Fleischman-Gelman, New York
• Product Development Manager, United Healthcare Co., Minneapolis, MN
• SPOT Image Corporation
• Program Manager, International Research and Exchange Board
• Editorial Assistant, Pergamon Press
• Administrator for Human Services, Onondaga County, NY
• Director of Legislative Affairs, National Association of State Colleges
• Defense Investigative Service
• Paralegal
• Marasco Newton Group
• Training Specialist, World Bank
• Account Executive, AT&T
• Chase Manhattan Bank
• President, BOTEC Analysis Corp.
• Senior Vice President, American Trucking Association