Ohan ’15 witnesses Iran-U.S. deal at internship

Sienna Ohan '15 is an intern this summer at the U.S. Embassy in Austria, and was on hand when U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced a landmark agreement between the U.S. and Iran in July. (Courtesy Photo)

Sienna Ohan ’15 had a global internship this summer that allowed her to witness history: the July 14 press conference in which U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced a landmark agreement with Iran over the country’s nuclear program.

“I have never felt so proud and accomplished than on July 14th,” said Ohan, a Marketing Communications major and Business Studies minor. “The fact that negotiations finally produced a geopolitical compromise, which many believed would never occur, was such a historic moment and one I will never forget.”

Ohan, from Red Hook, New York, interned this summer at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, Austria, where Kerry’s press conference was held. Ohan said she helped seat Kerry’s senior staff and several U.S. Ambassadors upon their arrival for the event, and assisted American median outlets that attended.

“Once the speeches began, I was sitting smack in the middle of John Kerry’s senior staff,” Ohan said. “Just listening to how proud they were of the ‘behind the scenes’ work they accomplished and how they all know that the hard part has just begun was such a surreal moment.

“Even when the conference was going on, you could tell they were already planning their next steps,” she continued.

Ohan, who plays on the Emerson College Women’s Basketball Team, studied abroad in Rome, Italy, in the Spring 2015 semester, where she met a young woman who worked for the U.S. Embassy in Italy.

“Her experience fascinated me, so I had to apply,” Ohan said.

Ohan has done marketing-related internships before but wanted to expand her horizons.

“I hoped to see how an international setting mixed into that,” she said. “I finally have an idea as to…what I want to do post-graduation. Working in the field of Foreign Services is where I want to be.”

Ohan said Emerson’s Office of Career Services was extremely helpful in getting her U.S. Embassy internship approved, which involved “an elaborate background check.”

“Emerson goes the extra mile to make sure their students get the most out of their education,” she said. “I knew I chose this school for a reason!”

Learn more about Emerson’s study abroad opportunities with the Office of Internationalization and Global Engagement, which is increasing its number of programs this year.

Editor's Note: This article is the first in the twice-weekly Global Spotlight Series that examines the experiences of Emerson College students who worked or studied abroad this summer. New articles will appear every Monday and Wednesday in August on Emerson College Today.