A son of American Samoa has been sworn in as a diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service.
John Xavier Anesi Iosefo is believed to be the first person from American Samoa to receive an appointment in the U.S. Foreign Service whose mission is to carry out the foreign policy of the United States.
His first posting is to Tel Aviv, Israel next year.
John, the youngest of 8 children of Tauili’ili Iosefo and Juliana Ah Ching-Iosefo of Tafuna and Laulii, graduated as one of three valedictorians of Tafuna High School in 2017. He obtained his Bachelors degree from the University of San Francisco. In his senior year, he was awarded the University of San Francisco’s Cultural Centers 2021 Dream Chaser Award.
He, then, attended Georgetown University for his graduate studies under a fully paid scholarship by the Department of State.
He was awarded the prestigious Charles B. Rangel Fellowship, a highly regarded Fellowship that put him on a career and academic path to becoming a Foreign Service Officer and to earning a Master’s degree in security studies.
While at Georgetown, he interned and later worked full time while in school for Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata’s office.
The congresswoman congratulated John and his parents: “It’s always especially wonderful to see American Samoa’s own doing well and making their way in the world. My office has worked with John several times during his internships and education, and full time while he did excellent work with both my legislative and press teams.”
She continued, “It’s no surprise to anyone in my office that the U.S. State Department recognized his potential right from the start, and recruited him to this great career path serving our nation in diplomacy. He put in the academic effort to qualify for the prestigious Charles B. Rangel Fellowship in International Studies, and then earned his graduate degree. Congratulations to his proud parents Tauili’ili Silivelio and Juliana Ah-Ching-Iosefo, and all who’ve had a part in his journey, and we wish him the best in his intensive language studies.”
Congratulations Mr. Iosefo!
