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ATLANTA — Georgia State University alumnus David Aguilar (B.A. ’24) has long held a passion for international affairs. This summer, the political science graduate is taking a major step toward a career in diplomacy as a recipient of the prestigious Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship.
The Rangel Graduate Fellowship aims to attract and prepare outstanding young people for careers in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State in which they can help formulate, represent and implement U.S. foreign policy. The program selects outstanding Rangel Fellows annually in a highly competitive nationwide process and supports them through two years of graduate study, internships, mentoring and professional development activities. Fellows who successfully complete the program and Foreign Service entry requirements will receive appointments as Foreign Service officers, in accordance with applicable law and State Department policy. Rangel Fellows are committed to serving their country and promoting positive change globally.
“I’m thrilled to have been chosen for the Rangel Graduate Fellowship program,” Aguilar said. “When I was an undergraduate at Georgia State, I attended an event where State Department officials explained the benefits of this fellowship. I knew then that I had to apply. To now be a fellow feels surreal.”
Aguilar, a native of Atlanta, developed an early interest in international affairs while visiting family in Colombia as a child. His curiosity deepened in high school when the 2019 Canadian federal election sparked his interest in global political ideologies.
“As a kid, I was fascinated by how other countries worked,” Aguilar said. “That Canadian election really pulled me in and made me want to learn more about the world beyond the U.S.”
As a recipient of Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship, Aguilar chose to study close to home, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at Georgia State. As an undergraduate, Aguilar studied abroad in France, earned Georgia State’s Office of International Initiatives’ Global Scholar Distinction and completed several internships — including with U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.), U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.
Aguilar’s adviser, Principal Lecturer and Director of Georgia State’s Global Studies Bachelor’s Program Laura Hastings, witnessed his early interest in the Rangel Fellowship and has supported him throughout his academic journey.
“I’m incredibly proud that David has been selected as a Rangel Fellow,” Hastings said. “It’s something I encouraged him to pursue. I know he will shine in the program and be an exceptional representative of Georgia State in the Foreign Service.”
This fall, Aguilar will begin graduate studies in international relations at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) — Hastings’ alma mater. He is the fourth Georgia State student to receive the Rangel Fellowship, following recipients in 2017, 2020 and 2021.
As part of the fellowship, Aguilar will complete two internships — one next summer with members of Congress in Washington, D.C., and a second during the summer of 2027 at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.
After completing his graduate studies, Aguilar hopes to become a political officer in the U.S. Foreign Service focused on the Western Hemisphere. As the eldest child in his family and the first to attend college, he’s driven by a deep sense of purpose.
“I want to show my younger siblings that they can achieve anything,” Aguilar said. “My parents sacrificed a lot, and I want to prove that it was all worth it.”
— Story by Marc Reyes