Sydney Cross '10 Receives Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship

Sydney Cross

Sydney Cross, a member of the Green Class of 2010, has been selected as one of twenty recipients of the prestigious Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship. Funded by the U.S. Department of State, this highly-competitive fellowship provides both scholarship funding and internship experience for young people to pursue a career in the U.S. Foreign Service. The Rangel Fellowship provides up to $28,000 annually for tuition, room, board and a stipend for a two-year master’s degree in international affairs; each fellow is then assigned a three-year appointment as a Foreign Service Officer.

The St. Louis, Missouri native is an international affairs major whose time at Trinity has been filled activity and achievement. Completing her undergraduate degree in three years thanks to college credits earned through high school, Cross interned with the Democratic National Committee in 2008, and attended the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. She became involved with the Black Caucus of the College Democrats of America, and served as secretary before her subsequent election to vice president.

While a student at Trinity, Cross worked with the State Department in the Bureau of Administration’s Information Privacy Office. Many opportunities followed, including her attendance at various political events around town and on Capitol Hill, where she met Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ’62. During the summer prior to her senior year, Cross gained admission to the highly competitive Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Summer Program at Howard University. The internship led to her selection as a Rangel Graduate Fellow.

Throughout her time at Trinity she has been very involved with student government, for which she was recognized with the prestigious St. Catherine Medal at Cap and Gown Convocation last fall. She served as president of the Student Government Association and president of the Trinity College Democrats, and played on the volleyball team.

Following commencement, Sydney travelled to Israel with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Campus Allies Mission program. Her Rangel Fellowship will begin with an internship on Capitol Hill this summer in the office of Congressman John Conyers, Jr. She will be attending Howard University for graduate school in the fall.