Kristina Mason

WORK HISTORY

ABOUT KRISTINA MASON

Hi, I’m Kristina! I was born and raised in Dayton, Nevada and I’m a first-generation graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno with a Bachelors in International Affairs. I lived in rural eastern Germany for a year through the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange. I also studied abroad in Ghana on the Gilman Scholarship. I’ve had the privilege of interning for Senator Cortez Masto on her Foreign Relations committee where I got to advocate for the strengthening of US Relations with Africa. In 2021, I decided I wanted to pursue a career in US Foreign Policy towards Africa so I saved up, bought a ticket and moved to Mwanza, Tanzania to learn Kiswahili and get experience working on the continent. Through networking and remarkable circumstances, I ended up working at a Renewable Energy company developing the fishing industry of Lake Victoria. I had the opportunity to work with local communities, the Tanzanian government and foreign donors while strengthening my grant writing skills and sharpening my Swahili in a bilingual office environment. I am currently a Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellow pursuing my Masters of International Affairs at Columbia University SIPA. Upon graduation, I will become a diplomat for the U.S. State Department thanks to the generous support of the Pickering Fellowship.