As a former Foreign Service "diplobrat," I was initially hesitant to apply for an internship with the Department of State. From my experience rummaging through files as a summer hire at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to knowing the community liaison office staff to discovering my American identity when I finally landed back in the U.S. after years of brief visits, I felt I had an insider perspective on what is often perceived as the glamorous life of the Foreign Service.

"Not for me, thanks; that's my Dad's thing," was my standard response—until last year.

I recall having lunch with three diplobrat buddies – all international relations majors who had mastered a foreign language or two. "So what do you guys think you will be doing after graduation?" I asked. The unanimous response was, "Definitely not the Foreign Service!" Yet a year later, three of the four of us jumped on the opportunity to sign up for a summer at State.

I arrived on my first day at State skeptical of statements such as "Internships always provide you with an opportunity to learn about things you can't learn in the classroom." I had a friend who interned in a renowned international law firm where the most challenging tasks were running errands and, above all, stapling documents. Thus I half expected my internship to be similar: running errands, answering phones, escorting people to meetings and, for the most part, pretending to be busy.

As orientation proceeded, I met a range of public-policy-driven peers, coming from as far as California, Texas and New York. Most of us were unsure of what direction our lives were taking, but were genuinely interested in public diplomacy.

I began my first day in Regional Security Affairs in the Africa Bureau fully expecting to run pieces of paper to and from offices and staple documents. Yet, to my surprise, I was thoroughly briefed on the new foreign assistance framework proposal and the main issues circulating in the department, and was asked what my interests were. I thought to myself, "Maybe they're just being polite. They can't actually be taking this internship that seriously."

They were. Throughout the summer, my co-workers would constantly shoot me e-mails or knock on my door to direct me to a session relating to a particular interest of mine, urge me to attend an intern lecture series or give me graduate school advice. My direct supervisor became my mentor, and never ceased to amaze me in the way she looked out for interesting opportunities for me to become more involved at State, updated me on bureau happenings and provided great feedback on everything from note-taking skills to writing funding allocation requests.

My surprisingly rich experience is not unique. The feedback from other college students I talked to during the summer centered on the Department's sincere efforts to genuinely immerse the interns in what’s going on in the world. They want us to be an active part of the process.

Tom Opstal, a William and Mary senior who interned in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, said, "This internship is different because of its emphasis on giving us challenging, intellectual tasks to complete, as opposed to mundane office work, which is typically associated with other internships."

Christine Perot, a junior from Penn State, added, "I wish I had done more of these before. This internship has given me such focus on what I want to do after school in terms of graduate school and my career – a great insight on the government process."

In stark contrast to other summer "resume boosters," State offers a wonderful support system that encourages mentoring and allows interns to become real insiders. As a result of my summer experiences, I am drawn more and more toward pursuing a Foreign Service career. Unlike my friend who felt like a drone at that international law firm, I am happy to report that there is no stapler glued to my hand.