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Alumni Career Advice

Transitioning from Law to Foreign Service

By Rohit Nepal ’94

March 6, 2023

Tags Government & Law

Growing up, I always wanted to be a lawyer. After graduating from Hamilton and studying law at N.Y.U., I thought I had the career I’d always wanted, first at law firms in New York and then with a fellowship at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala. Though I loved much of the work I did, I had a growing realization that it was not the right fit for me in the long run.

Fortunately, I had taken a small seminar course at Hamilton led by former U.S. ambassador to Egypt Roy Atherton. When my wife asked if I was interested in taking the Foreign Service exam with her, I jumped at the chance based on the amazing experiences Ambassador Atherton shared with our class about his time with the State Department. Fast forward more than twenty years, and I have served overseas in five countries (Mexico, India, Pakistan, Jordan, and Italy), learned three languages (Spanish, Arabic, and Italian), and had the opportunity to work on some of our most pressing national security and foreign policy issues. I have helped develop policies to address the threat of al Qaeda and ISIS, oversaw the provision of hundreds of millions of dollars of support to Syrian refugees, and worked to maintain the unity and strength of NATO, which has proven vital following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On a personal level, my work has allowed me to touch the lives of countless people – whether through U.S. support or by simply showing up as an American diplomat in a small town – and make friends all over the world. This career is not always the easiest: we work within a large bureaucracy, move frequently (often to challenging places), and are often far away from friends and family. But for me, the benefits have far outweighed the costs.

My Hamilton education not only provided me the spark to join the Foreign Service thanks to Ambassador Atherton’s class, but it also prepared me to succeed. Above all, diplomats need to be communicators. Hamilton taught me the communication skills – both written and oral – I’ve needed in this career. We’re also generalists; one day I may be asked to discuss trade policy, the next I could be talking about military sales. My Hamilton education gave me the ability to quickly research and analyze the many issues that come my way.

For students who are interested in careers in the Foreign Service, or international relations in general, I’d encourage them to take advantage of many opportunities that Hamilton offers. My government major gave me a strong grounding in both U.S. government and international relations, and the semester in Washington, D.C. was an invaluable first introduction into how our government really works. Although I only studied Chinese briefly at Hamilton, students interested in the foreign service would be well-served by really digging into at least one foreign language.