Jordan Simmons, a senior majoring in global studies, with a concentration in international affairs and minors in Spanish and sociology, all in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, was selected as a 2024 Donald M. Payne International Development Fellow. The Payne Fellowship program is aimed at outstanding candidates interested in pursuing careers in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which was created by President John. F. Kennedy in 1961 to lead the U.S. government’s international development and humanitarian efforts.
Simmons was one of 30 students chosen this year from over 800 applicants for the fellowship, which provides up to $104,000 toward graduate school studies, professional development and two internships, one in Washington, D.C., working on international issues and another overseas in a USAID mission. After he completes graduate school, Simmons will receive an appointment as a foreign service officer with USAID.
Even before becoming a fellow, Simmons had a strong interest and involvement in international affairs, completing an internship under former U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, of Tennessee, and another at the National Peace Corps Association. He also spent a summer studying abroad in Dakar, Senegal, in 2022 and completed a semester-long study-abroad opportunity in Colombia in 2023. Following graduation, Simmons will spend a summer working for U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, of St. Louis, before attending Carnegie Mellon University’s Master of Science in Public Policy & Management program in Washington, D.C.
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