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It has been quite a year for Florida State University student Carly S. Nasehi. First the senior from Orlando, Fla., won a prestigious Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship, which will enable her to live and teach English in Germany for 10 months. Next, the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi — the nation's oldest, largest and most selective all-discipline honor society — awarded her a $5,000 Graduate Fellowship, one of only 60 given out each year.

But the awards don't stop there. Nasehi, an honors student who recently graduated summa cum laude from Florida State, has also received a Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship — an extremely competitive award for students seeking careers in the U.S. Foreign Service. The Pickering fellowship will cover two full years of tuition, room and board at New York University, where she plans to do graduate work in public policy with an international specialization.

"Our office has been working with Carly for a couple of years, and every time we talk she is doing more amazing things," said Meredith Simpson, the interim director of Florida State's Office of National Fellowships, which helps students pursue nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships. "She is a bright, humble and extremely qualified student, and to win three major awards in one year is a remarkable achievement."

With a dual degree in international affairs and religion and a minor in German, Nasehi has long been interested in the wider world that exists beyond U.S. borders.

"I am a true Floridian, but I have had opportunities to view our culture through numerous perspectives: as an Iranian-American — my father came from Iran to study at FSU's School of Music — and through the eyes of many friends from other countries," she said. "My decision to study international affairs was primarily due to my interest in cultural exchange and my fascination with international cooperation — preserving regional distinctiveness while going beyond differences to work together for the welfare of mankind."

During her years at The Florida State University, Nasehi has been active in numerous campus activities and has pursued a number of opportunities for international engagement. In addition to being a delegate with Florida State's Model U.N. team, she has participated in the university's Beyond Borders cultural exchange program and recently completed an internship with the U.S. Consulate in Vienna, Austria.

Nasehi also served in Student Government as secretary of Multicultural Affairs; worked at the university's International Center, helping students from abroad with the many cultural and other challenges that face them; taught English to migrant workers in Gadsden County, Fla.; taught German to children at the German School of Tallahassee; and worked 24 hours a week in the office of former Florida Rep. Loranne Ausley. With her Pickering fellowship, Nasehi becomes the second Florida State student in four years to receive the coveted award. Brittney McClary won one in 2006.

"I am very grateful to have been awarded the Pickering fellowship in order to complete a graduate program at New York University and am filled with enthusiasm at the thought of my overseas work to come with the Foreign Service," Nasehi said. "I will continue to live out my commitment to the international community and am thankful to all those at Florida State who have encouraged and supported my goals."

The Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship is funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. The program seeks to recruit talented students in academic programs relevant to international affairs, political and economic analysis, administration, management and science policy. The goal is to attract outstanding students from all ethnic, racial and social backgrounds who have an interest in pursuing a Foreign Service career. Learn more about the Pickering fellowship here.

By Barry Ray