December 14, 2023

We are thrilled to announce that Jade Umstead, criminology & justice studies ’24, was selected for the 2024 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship. Jade is the first Drexel student to receive this award. The Rangel Program selects outstanding Rangel Fellows annually in a highly competitive nationwide process and supports them through two years of graduate study, internships, mentoring, and professional development activities to prepare them for careers in the Foreign Service. Congratulations, Jade!

Jade Umstead
criminology & justice studies ’24

Jade Umstead is a continuing senior pursuing a bachelor's degree in criminology and justice studies with a focus in justice informatics and a minor in Asian studies. Jade has achieved a language certificate in Korean and hopes to obtain another in Chinese. In the fall of 2021, she studied abroad in South Korea at Seoul National University. While in Korea, Jade participated in the Korean Language Program, gained first-hand knowledge about comparative justice systems, and explored the fashion districts. Since the summer of 2023, Jade has been studying Mandarin in Taiwan through the National Security Education Program (NSEP)’s Boren Scholarship, where she has been improving her language proficiency, learning about Taiwan’s history, and volunteering as a student ambassador for her language center’s incoming students.

Jade has recently been named as a 2023-2024 Charles B. Rangel Fellow. Through the Rangel Program, she will be pursuing a graduate degree in the sphere of international affairs. During Jade’s graduate school experience, she will complete one Congressional internship and one internship at an overseas embassy/consulate. Upon completing her graduate program, Jade will take the steps necessary to become a Foreign Service Officer for the Department of State. 

Earlier in her Drexel career, Jade was also involved in the Pennoni Honors College as a 2020 STAR Scholar and a 2020-21 Aspire Scholar.

The Rangel Graduate Fellowship is a program that aims to attract and prepare outstanding young people for careers in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State in which they can help formulate, represent, and implement U.S. foreign policy. The Rangel Program selects outstanding Rangel Fellows annually in a highly competitive nationwide process and supports them through two years of graduate study, internships, mentoring, and professional development activities. This program encourages the application of members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service, women, and those with financial need. Fellows who successfully complete the program and Foreign Service entry requirements will receive appointments as Foreign Service Officers, in accordance with applicable law and State Department policy.

If you are interested in applying for this award, please contact UREP at fellowships@drexel.edu.