National Disability Independence Day today marks the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, 1990. Our next VSFS intern spotlight is Maahi Sethi! Maahi worked in the Office of the Special Advisor on International Disability Rights (SAIDR). Her project aimed to assist policy advisors in changing and disrupting the narrative on disability through novel and untapped mechanisms. Maahi researched the state of disabilities in countries around the world, analyzing the intersection of entrepreneurship and disability. When asked about the impact of Maahi’s project, she said, “Collaborating with the larger intern cohort, I aided policy advisors in discussions of psychiatric disabilities and methods of continued large-scale engagement with disability policy around the world.” Maahi is now a VSFS intern with the Office of e-Diplomacy at the Bureau of DT - Diplomatic Technology at State helping with VSFS program management and administrative tasks! Thank you, Maahi, for your work on these projects, and your support of the VSFS program.
U.S. Department of State - Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS)
Government Administration
Washington, DC 10,078 followers
VSFS is a internship program for American college and university students to virtually intern at U.S. federal agencies.
About us
Make a real difference in the work of the U.S. government through the VSFS program! We harness the expertise and digital excellence of U.S. citizen students to enhance the work of government through hundreds of remote internship opportunities.
- Website
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https://linktr.ee/vsfs
External link for U.S. Department of State - Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS)
- Industry
- Government Administration
- Company size
- 10,001+ employees
- Headquarters
- Washington, DC
- Founded
- 2009
- Specialties
- remote internships, digital expertise, virtual interns, USG, federal government, and citizen engagement
Updates
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U.S. Department of State - Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) reposted this
Earlier this year, virtual interns were recognized for outstanding achievements in the 2023-24 U.S. Department of State - Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS). #VSFS is an interagency virtual internship program administered by the Bureau of Diplomatic Technology’s (DT) Office of eDiplomacy. The program connects college #students with the vital functions and responsibilities of the federal #government. The Virtual Intern Awards ceremony capped off a successful academic year for 1,700 interns, 800 mentors, 500 projects, and 47 participating agencies. Winning interns, selected by an interagency panel, were presented with small cash awards provided by the Robertson Foundation for Government. Since its launch in 2009, more than 15,000 students have completed internships through the program. That’s 15,000 people creating global impact and promoting DT’s goal of finding innovative technology solutions to the world’s most challenging problems. Learn more about the program here: https://lnkd.in/gyNdNNCX and join our talent network here https://lnkd.in/gYShZ-Z8 to get notified when the VSFS applications opens in February 2025 for the 2025-26 cohort!
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Introducing our next VSFS intern, Becki Pembleton, who has completed two VSFS internships! For her second project, Becki worked with the USDA Forest Service to create a map of historic cemeteries in Kentucky. She collaborated with the United States Forest Service, Daniel Boone National Forest’s Redbird Ranger District, the Kentucky Heritage Council, and the Commonwealth Office of Technology Division of Geographic Information to map the cemeteries and sort them by county. Thank you, Becki, for contributing to this unique VSFS project!
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Join us in celebrating the accomplishments of our next VSFS intern, Abigail Yacob. Abigail completed three projects with VSFS through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Throughout her three projects, Abigail created visual representations of public USDA data, analyzed the current USDA data page and suggested improvements, and created a USDA Digital Service Newsletter. Thank you, Abigail, for your outstanding contributions and dedication to the USDA!
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For our next intern spotlight, we are excited to introduce Michelle L., a VSFS intern who helped with the Decode Diplomacy program with the Bureau of Diplomatic Technology at the Department of State. Focusing on natural language processing, Michelle collaborated with a scrum team to develop a full stack chatbot application that can summarize documents using Artificial Intelligence mechanisms. When asked about her VSFS experience, Michelle mentioned, “I greatly enjoyed being able to set our own research and implementation goals for the project. We formed teams to target different parts of the application based on our experience and strengths.” Congratulations on a successful VSFS internship experience, Michelle!
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We’re excited to introduce you to Angelora Castellano, a VSFS intern at the U.S. Department of State with the Office of Policy, Planning, and Resources for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. As part of the Outreach and Communications team, Angelora performed extensive research in support of public diplomacy initiatives. Her focus areas included congressional events, nonprofit organizations, and think-tanks across the United States. Angelora also assisted the Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy, Liz Allen, with research aimed at modernizing public diplomacy. Angelora’s outstanding work was recognized with a nomination for a VSFS Virtual Intern Award. Congratulations on your incredible VSFS journey, Angelora!
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It’s time to showcase another talented VSFS intern, Peter N. Jones! Peter interned for the USAID’s Civil Society, Labor, and Media Office. He performed statistical analysis on the breadth, geography, and impact of media development projects supported by USAID around the world. This comprehensive data set opened up new avenues for discussion when formulating priorities within the USAID Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance. Congratulations on your work and support of the VSFS program, Peter!
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U.S. Department of State - Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) reposted this
Emory University | Communications Intern with the Office of E-Diplomacy at U.S. Department of State | Pre-Law student
Super excited to be part of such an amazing program at the U.S. Department of State - Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) internships! Looking forward to speaking more and joining Maggie Opsahl in this discussion along with some amazing panelists!
Interested in learning about fellowships, scholarships, and other opportunities at State? Join us to hear from previous VSFS interns who are at State as Foreign and Civil Service Officers or government contractors. We’re hosting three panels: Tuesday, July 23rd, from 6 PM to 7 PM ET Thursday, July 25th, from 12 PM to 1 PM ET Friday, July 26th from 4 PM to 5 PM ET We look forward to seeing you! Register through our linktree here: https://linktr.ee/vsfs.
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Interested in learning about fellowships, scholarships, and other opportunities at State? Join us to hear from previous VSFS interns who are at State as Foreign and Civil Service Officers or government contractors. We’re hosting three panels: Tuesday, July 23rd, from 6 PM to 7 PM ET Thursday, July 25th, from 12 PM to 1 PM ET Friday, July 26th from 4 PM to 5 PM ET We look forward to seeing you! Register through our linktree here: https://linktr.ee/vsfs.
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Meet our next VSFS intern, Adrian Susanto. Adrian interned with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) where he tracked wildlife using advanced technology. “Being able to learn [about] new wildlife in the Northeast region and see different kinds of wildlife interacting with a snow stake that was placed in the middle of the camera trap,” were some of Adrian’s favorite parts of the VSFS experience. Thank you for your continued engagement with the VSFS program, Adrian!
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