Internships Rescinded. Jobs Lost. Foreign Affairs Students Ask: What Now?

Yasmine Mirhaji had planned out her last three years at American University’s School of International Service meticulously, taking classes on diplomacy and power. Inspired by her parents’ experience fleeing Iran to the United States decades ago, she dreamed about joining the State Department, which deals in foreign policy, and had applied for an internship at the agency. But moves by the Trump administration, in its first days in power, to slash funding and jobs across federal agencies has upended civil service prospects for scores of local college students, many of whom chose D.C. universities for their pipeline to federal and international careers.