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Issue date: 11/1/06 Section: News

Media Credit: David Morris Gina Ambercrombie-Winstanley speaks to DBCC students about Middle Eastern affairs and her experiences in the foreign service as an American diplomat in October.

DBCC welcomed Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, to speak to students about opportunities in the State Department and Middle Eastern affairs.
She was in Daytona Beach to attend a Model United Nations function at Bethune-Cookman College on Oct. 5, where she also spoke. Abercrombie-Winstanley provided everyone who attended the lecture with literature on the career opportunities available in the State Department and Foreign Service. She made a good case for an exciting career track for all college majors, as well.
Opportunities to move up, to travel and jobs that enable employees to influence foreign policy were among her selling points.
"My impact increases as I go up in my career," she told the audience of about 40 people.
Using her own illustrious career as an example, Abercrombie-Winstanley explained the application process and benefits of a job in the Foreign Service, saying that after 21 years, "It's still fun."
Abercrombie-Winstanley has seen stressful situations in her career, so fielding the questions of a room full of college students, faculty and community members was a breeze. The audience seemed more interested in current affairs than the job specifications of a diplomat, however, and voiced their concerns about the War on Terror and Middle Eastern affairs.
The discussion prompted heated questions and comments from the audience whose personal beliefs and political ideologies were varied and whose knowledge of both history and current affairs was fairly extensive. Abercrombie-Winstanley responded to all questions thoroughly. Her reputation as a smart negotiator and outspoken advocate of civil rights preceded her as she directed the question-and-answer session, which focused on her personal experience in matters of cultural and military conflict.
A graduate of George Washington University and later the recipient of a masters degree from John Hopkins University, the diplomat was Consulate General stationed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during the Dec. 6, 2004 attack on the embassy by Al Qa'eda. Four Americans and a Saudi guard died in the attack.
She also worked for the State Department in Baghdad in 1985 and was employed at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv from 1994-97, where she was responsible for reporting on Palestinian-Israeli relations and had direct contact with Yasser Arafat.
When asked what she believed the United States should do in Iraq, Abercrombie-Winstanley first laughed, saying, "I work for the government," which eased the seriousness of the topic for both speaker and audience. She went on to say that "it's just very hard to know" and that whether we withdraw our forces soon or maintain a presence in the region, "The Iraqis are going to have to figure this out themselves."
Considering President Bush's recent announcement that the United States will be keeping troops in Iraq until 2010 and the implications of the upcoming election, Abercrombie-Winstanley's visit provided the opportune situation for students to ask real questions and get real answers about what's going on with U.S. foreign policy.

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