Krescent Hancock’s daily commute to Foggy Bottom via the metro’s blue line hasn’t gotten old yet. In fact, “each day is a new adventure,” she says.
Her destination is the State Department in Washington, D.C., where she works as a presidential management intern (PMI). As part of her two-year assignment, she works in the Office of Intelligence Resources, a branch of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR). INR’s primary mission is to harness intelligence to support U.S. foreign policy decision makers, Hancock said.
The PMI program was established by executive order in 1977 to attract students from a wide variety of academic backgrounds to work for the executive branch of the federal government. More than forty federal agencies and all cabinet departments hire through the PMI program.
As a PMI, Hancock lends support to diplomacy and diplomatic operations and acts as project assistant for the Support to Diplomatic Operations (SDO) program. She assists in the daily coordination of projects and develops, tracks, and implements budgets and schedules related to SDO projects. She provides backup staff support for the deputy assistant secretary for Intelligence Policy and Coordination’s participation in an interagency intelligence collection board.
In addition, Hancock helps provide intelligence assistance to the Secretary of State while he travels. Hancock served as the volunteer INR officer for Secretary Colin Powell’s trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York in November. In the coming months, Hancock will travel to Tokyo, Botswana, Sri Lanka, and Trinidad and Tobago for short-term projects.
“The PMI program, with its training and rotation opportunities, is giving me a breadth of experience in the State Department and federal government,” Hancock says.
Her internship commenced in 2001 and will conclude in 2003, at which point she plans to continue working with the State Department. She is considering a career in the Foreign Service. Hancock graduated with University Honors from Colgate University in 1998. After earning her BA, she received her MPA degree in 2001 from the Marriott School. Hancock resides in Fairfax Station, Virginia.
