HBCU Connect sponsors this one-hour webinar featuring speakers from the U.S. Department of State and the Foreign Affairs Information Technology (FAIT) Fellowship.
Do you plan to enter your junior year of an IT-related bachelor’s degree program or the first year of an IT-related master’s degree program in fall 2025? Are you interested in receiving academic funding and pursuing an IT career that makes a difference?
As a FAIT Fellow, you’ll receive up to $43,500 annually in academic funding from the U.S. Department of State for two years, two paid summer internships, professional development and mentoring. And when you’ve successfully completed the program, you will enter the Foreign Service to launch your career as a Diplomatic Technology Officer (DTO).
Want to know more? Sign up now for this one-hour webinar to hear about:
Discover:
- How the FAIT Fellowship program works
- The benefits that FAIT Fellows receive
- Whether you are eligible to apply for the 2025 cohort
- How the selection process works
- Your obligation to the State Department once you accept your approval into the FAIT Fellowship program
- What Diplomatic Technology Officers do
- And much, much more
Our speakers:
- William R. Moss III, President and CEO of HBCU Connect, LLC, founded HBCUConnect.com in June 1999, the largest Historically Black College and University website in existence. A 1995 graduate of Hampton University as the top Computer Science scholar in his class, Will went on to work as a lead software engineer for AT&T Bell Labs until he started HBCUConnect.com. His experience in corporate America as an intern, employee, and consultant lead to the development of HBCU Connect as an answer to the lack of an existing platform for HBCU students and graduates to communicate, network and take advantage of related opportunities.
- Sherry Zalika Sykes joined the Foreign Service in 2000 and currently serves as the Diplomat in Residence (DIR) for the Allegheny region, providing guidance and advice on careers, internships, and fellowships to students and professionals interested in pursuing a career in diplomacy. Her most recent assignment before becoming a DIR was as Director of the Office of Environmental Quality in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. Sherry holds an MPA, Organizational Development and Leadership, from Harvard Kennedy School and a BA, International Relations and African Affairs, from Stanford University.
- Michael Moise became a Diplomatic Technology Officer in 2019, after completing the FAIT Fellowship with the 2017 cohort and is current posted at the U.S. Embassy, Casablanca, Morocco. He previously served at the U.S. Embassy Nicosia, Cyprus. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology from Syracuse University and is working on a master’s degree in cybersecurity from Georgia Tech.
- Heidi Ramaeker, Marketing and Outreach Manager with The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars (TWC), manages the FAIT Fellowship’s direct outreach and engagement with colleges and universities across the country. She provides in-person and virtual info sessions for the FAIT Fellowship program, manages the FAIT Fellowship social media channels and coordinates with Diplomats in Residence nationwide to recruit qualified applicants to the program.
- Bria Amos, Senior Coordinator, Marketing and Outreach with TWC, provides support for FAIT Fellowship webinars and virtual info sessions, social media and video editing, and coordinates direct outreach and engagement with colleges and universities for other Department of State fellowship programs administered by TWC.
