For his summer internship, Richard Fitzmaurice decided to return to a familiar foreign country. The IU graduate student, from Poughkeepsie, New York, hopes his internship with the United States Embassy in Turkmenistan will add to his IU Bloomington studies in Russian/Eastern European Studies and Public Policy. Fitzmaurice completed his first year of a three-year dual degree program in May 2005. He is pursuing a Dual Master of Arts in Russian and East European Studies and Master of Public Affairs (M.A./M.P.A.)

The last time Fitzmaurice, 27, went to Turkmenistan was when he was a Peace Corps volunteer. This summer visit will give Fitzmaurice the time to focus on work that is related to his career goal—to work abroad for the U.S. State Department or the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Fitzmaurice describes his summer job responsibilities and why this internship appeals to him.