We Are Knox...

"I have been interested in joining the State Department as a foreign officer, so I decided to explore that field through an internship."

Dzifa Penty was a financial management intern at the U.S. Mission
(U.S. Embassy) in Kampala, Uganda, where she assisted with budget analysis, voucher examination, and accounting. She is interested in joining the U.S. Department of State as a foreign service officer. Costs associated with her internship were funded through the Richter Scholarship.

Tell us more about your internship.
I assisted with accounts receivable, logging and tracking invoices, and the routing and collection of bills. I also helped with special projects for the financial management teams and had lunch with some of the diplomats and local employees. It was amazing how quickly I made many friends.

What inspired you to pursue the internship?
After studying abroad in Besancon, France, I knew I wanted to do something with my French major in the future and travel the world. I have been interested in joining the State Department as a foreign officer, so I decided to explore that field through an internship.

Can you give an example of how your Knox experience benefited you?
At Knox, we are taught to work independently and think creatively. This really helped me with the projects I worked on, and it is amazing how those little things really matter and were noticed by my supervisor and co-workers.

What was the coolest part of your internship?
The best part was meeting the former ambassador and also participating in a project for the incoming ambassador. It involved making a biography book about all the employees in the Mission, so I worked with and met almost all of them, including those at USAID and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

How do you think this internship helped you in terms of your future plans?
This internship will definitely help me operate in any work environment in future. I also learned a lot about financial management and developed great teamwork and organizational skills.