I recently graduated from St. Louis University and am now participating in a postgraduate program called the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs. It’s a nine-month, experiential learning program that trains ethical, and diverse civic leaders nationwide.

As a Coro Fellow in St. Louis, Missouri, I am joined with 14 other young motivated people from around the country. As we have gotten to know one another, we share stories about experiences and situations in which we have explored different avenues of public affairs.

Courtney Bragg is one Fellow I had particularly spent a lot of time talking to about our short experiences in Washington, D.C.; our love for the town, our internship work while we were there and the courses that we took.

As we were going back and forth describing our experiences, I finally realized the similarities and asked her what program she participated in during her time in D.C. I was energized when she said she attended TFAS for the Capital Semester Program in 2007 and we excitedly discussed professors we had, people we encountered and places we had explored.

As we continue through the Coro Fellowship, there are many times where we stop and comment on how much our experience with TFAS has contributed to our education, work ethic and understanding of government affairs.

Furthermore, just recently we discovered that another Coro Fellow in San Francisco, Dave Koken, also attended TFAS in 2008 and lived only a few apartments away from me at Georgetown! Thanks to TFAS, I am able to expand my network and relate with people all over the country.

To me, this story is a true testament to the power that TFAS has to give to young individuals a quality education. Becoming a Coro Fellow is a competitive process and I think it is fabulous that out of the limited number of Fellows across the country 3 are also TFAS alumni.

Thanks for everything you do to connect alumni!

Do you have a story similar to Lauren’s? If your story is published in the e-newsletter, you will win a TFAS t-shirt! Contact alumni@TFAS.org to share your experience.