Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA

Road to Washington—and Beyond
Richmond Blake is on track to a career in diplomacy, thanks to his undergraduate Pickering Fellowship and recent national Truman Scholarship. After a two-year graduate program, Blake will join the ranks of diplomats, ambassadors and other “change agents” of America for a four-and-a-half year appointment as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. State Department. First, he’s got one more year at Davidson.

Campus Leadership
President of the Class of ’09 and once vice president of the Gay-Straight Alliance, Blake also participates in Leadership Davidson. “I’ve found that being a strong leader means being inclusive. By welcoming as many opinions and perspectives as possible to the decision-making process, one can achieve principled compromise and create buy-in.”

Davidson Knocked, He Answered
Blake credits Davidson for his opportunities, on campus and off. “Since being at Davidson, I’ve received grants to study in France and several South American countries…. When I applied for the Pickering, I was getting ready to study in Peru. I have taken classes in international relations and human rights. I think that all of these things, along with being a Bonner [http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/x4801.xml] and McGaw Scholar, made me a strong candidate for the Pickering and the Truman.”

International State of Mind
“The United States has its problems,” Blake says, “but at its core, I see a humanitarian state on a huge mission. I want to be a part of that and help create change in the world. I was in France during the beginning of the war in Iraq and for the first time in my life, I was really confronted by the way other countries viewed the politics of my country. I managed to not only think more broadly about the issues myself, but also got others to think more broadly.”

Living in the Moment
So what does it feel like, already being on a track leading to your dream job? “I have this opportunity that I’ve always dreamed of—it’s good to be excited, but you’ve got to stay focused on being where you are and not getting too far ahead of yourself, because that time will eventually come. And once it does, you can never go back!”