MIS Students - Undergraduate:
Daniel Ference
By Brenna Goth, UA News

First federal ambassador from UA promotes government jobs

Senior Daniel Ference is the first Federal Service Student Ambassador at the UA. He applied for the program after completing internships with the Arizona Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. State Department. The 47 student ambassadors around the country promote jobs and internships in the federal government on their campuses. Ference, who is studying management information systems, business management and entrepreneurship, will finish the year-long ambassadorship in May.

Daily Wildcat: You've been an ambassador for more than a semester. What kind of change do you think you've made on campus so far?

Daniel Ference: I think I've brought an awareness about all the opportunities available. I've focused a bit on Eller. A lot of the recruiters at Eller are from Fortune 500 companies, private companies. I'm trying to bring a sense of opportunities available in the federal government. A lot of students don't know they're available.

What kinds of opportunities are there for students in the federal government?

What a lot of students don't know are there are opportunities for students in every major. I feel like a lot of students think government work is only for poli sci (political science) majors or econ or international relations majors. In reality, there are opportunities in a variety of disciplines, whether it's business, arts or history … Another myth is also the pay. A lot of people … feel like the federal government doesn't pay its employees well, but in reality they're very competitive with some of the private industries. Again, people who work in the federal government may get a sense that they're giving back to a cause greater than themselves.

What were your internship experiences with the federal government?

This past summer I interned with the U.S. State Department and more specifically in their law enforcement arm, which is the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. I worked primarily with the Diplomatic Security Service. Their primary mission is to oversee security at U.S. embassies throughout the world, and they also provide security protection for visiting foreign dignitaries, so anyone below the Heads of State. I worked primarily with special agents in the Protective Liaison Division. They coordinate with foreign embassies in Washington D.C. [more]

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