Taking Steps Toward the Future: My Diplomacy Lab Research and Trip to D.C.
October 31, 2025 | Natalie Janssen
What is the Diplomacy Lab?
The Diplomacy Lab is made up of undergraduate students across the nation who work under the discretion of a professor advisor at their college. The Diplomacy Lab is in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State and offers students a chance to garner real-world experience in the diplomacy research field.
My Research Through Diplomacy Lab
For Fall 2024, my research was in partnership with the U.S. Embassy Tokyo related to investigating higher education ties between the U.S. and Japan. Myself and two other students in the lab created a listing of over 290 universities in the U.S. that offer programs related to Japanese studies. This included majors, minors, or certificates in Japanese.
After compiling the programs individual universities offer, we focused on study abroad programs. At the end of the Fall semester, we presented our research virtually to the U.S. Embassy Tokyo and some of their fellow colleagues.
The Trip…
Each year, the Diplomacy Lab hosts a Diplomacy Lab Fair in Washington, D.C. as a space for students to network, and most importantly, present their research to the U.S. Department of State. Unfortunately, this year the fair was cancelled. Our Diplomacy Lab director here at Miami University, Dr. Phillip Arceneaux, worked tirelessly to ensure the lab group still had the opportunity to present their research in some capacity and get to network with professions in the D.C. area. Thanks to him and the willingness of others in the professional field, we were able to still travel to D.C. from April 1-4 to present our research, network with alumni, meet professionals in the area, and learn more about the field of diplomacy!
We accomplished and saw so many things in a short amount of time, here are a few of the daily highlights!
April 1, 2025
We landed in Washington, D.C. around 9:30 a.m. Our first item on the agenda was meeting with Katherine Brown at Global Ties U.S. regarding their work and the concept of diplomacy. We had the opportunity to engage with Ms. Brown and ask her questions regarding their work.
Next, we had a walking tour of the National Mall with a few Miami University alumni. We walked from the Capitol Building to the Washington Monument and ended at the Lincoln Memorial.
It was a beautiful night with clear blue skies and a stunning sunset as the backdrop!
April 2, 2025
Today was a busy day! We started the day by visiting the Department of State to discuss various topics with a Miami University alumni and his co-worker. We got to meet in one of the conference rooms within the department and ask the both of them any questions we had.
After discussions with the alumni, we headed to the National Defense University where we ultimately gave our short presentations!
We had the opportunity to meet many faculty at the university, including the president of the university. After our presentations concluded, we had a career panel discussion with members of the university to ask them any questions about their journey and our own.
April 3, 2025
We started the day with a tour of the White House. I have wanted to go on this tour since I was a kid traveling to Washington with my 8th grade class. We started very early, got there around 7:30 a.m. to get in line to see the inside!
After the White House tour, we traveled to the House of Representatives to meet with Warren Davidson’s assistants. We engaged in discussions about Davidson’s role as a representative, the current political climate, and what it is like to work in the House of Representatives.
The rest of the day was ours to spend how we wanted to until late afternoon. My friends and I got lunch at Sweet Greens and headed to the Supreme Court! We only got to see the museum and gift shop part, but it was a very special experience!
Our final stop of the day as a group was the Embassy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to meet with their current interim ambassador.
The embassy provided us with tea, juices, and cookies while we asked the ambassador and his intern questions regarding his role. The embassy was stunning both on the outside and inside.
To end the day, some friends and I went to a gelato place and talked. It was a great bonding moment for all of us! Most of the people on the trip didn’t know anyone, and if they did know anyone it was typically one other person. We all became very close on this trip and I made some lifelong friends due to this experience!
After the gelato, we headed to an Ethiopian restaurant for dinner and explored more of the city! It was beautiful to see other parts of Washington, DC and feel like a local.
April 4, 2025
This was our last day in Washington, but we made the most of it! We started the day by heading to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing room to meet with two Miami University alumni working on the committee. We had the opportunity to sit in the seats that the senators on the committee sit in and engage in conversation with the two alumni.
We then went to the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia to meet with the ambassador! We had the opportunity to ask him questions about diplomacy, his role as ambassador, and about Serbia.
The rest of the day was ours until we headed to the airport, so some friends and I headed to the Embassy of Croatia.
It was a beautiful building and it was so special to see that embassy as well as the rest of the embassies on that street.
The Presentation
Our presentation took place at the National Defense University with a panel of educators from the university hearing our projects and providing feedback. It was truly a wonderful experience and beyond special to present my research, although a quick 2 minute presentation, to professionals. We were grateful to the National Defense University for extending a hand, allowing us to visit purely to present our research. It was conveyed to us that they wanted us to still have an opportunity to show off what we learned, accomplished, and worked so hard on since we could no longer present at the Diplomacy Fair.
Knowing how to present yourself, clearly communicate your research methodology and findings, and engage with individuals in a professional manner is an important quality to learn and an area that can constantly be improved.
This experience was something I will never forget. Not only was each professional meeting and networking event phenomenal and eye-opening, the experience to be in D.C. and meet new people was incredible.
We found delicious spots to eat, traveled on the Metro like locals, met with amazing Miami University alumni, engaged in dialogue with professionals working in our dream jobs, and met some amazing students who go to Miami. It only took us traveling to Washington D.C. to meet, but I am beyond grateful that we did!
Inside Washington, Getting Real-World Experience
If you, or someone you know, is interested in traveling to Washington, D.C. and engaging in a professional setting, learning more and applying to the the Inside Washington program is an excellent option!
