2018 Rangel Graduate Fellowship

(Middle picture) Kala Deterville (C’18), Japanese major, is featured on the Georgetown Front Page as one of the recipients of the highly competitive 2018 Rangel Graduate Fellowship. 

Congratulations Kala!

Broadened Understanding

Deterville, a Japanese and government double major, says her interest in other cultures began when her family started hosting foreign exchange students.

“We have had about 15 to 20 international students who lived at our home and went to an English school,” Deterville explains. “Students from France, Spain, Brazil, Africa, Korea, Japan, Mexico, everywhere. This experience really broadened my understanding of other cultures and how to communicate my own culture.”

While at Georgetown, she interned for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) (G’94) and worked in the Executive Office of the President of the United States during the Obama administration.

“Being here in D.C. provides a lot of opportunities,” says Deterville, who hopes to use the Rangel Fellowship in Japan as a Foreign Service officer after graduate school. “D.C. is just the perfect location to have academic and professional opportunities and to take classes from distinguished professors.”

She traveled abroad her junior year to study at Waseda University in Tokyo, thanks in part to the Boren and Gilman scholarships she received in 2015.

“As I gain experience and rank, I hope to be recognized for my commitment to ensure U.S. national security and be appointed as the first female African American U.S. Ambassador to Japan,” Deterville says.