The Nelson Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs presents “How to Prepare for the Foreign Service Exam” on Monday, Nov. 23, at 6 p.m. in Meredith Hall, Room 234. Drake alumna Lauren Garza, AS’05, GR’09, will present.

Lauren currently serves as a public diplomacy desk officer for West Africa in the Bureau of African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. She joined the State Department in 2009. Prior to this, Garza served as a consular officer in Monterrey, Mexico, and Vancouver, Canada. Lauren graduated from Drake with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, Politics, and French. She received her Master of Public Administration from Drake in 2009 while working as a foreign student adviser and study abroad adviser.

In addition to having lived in Mexico and Canada, Lauren studied abroad in Nantes, France, and served as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Gumi, South Korea. She is married with a one-year-old and an adopted street pooch from Mexico.

—Submitted by Drake International