Teagan Reese ’14: Life Abroad as a Foreign Service Officer

It’s not easy starting a new school in the middle of your high school years. But when Teagan Reese ’14 first arrived at Greenhills at the beginning of her junior year, she felt immediately welcomed by faculty and classmates alike.

“The Greenhills community is really special and it’s the part that I remember the most from my time at the school. Everyone was so warm and helped me to fit in right away,” she recalls. “Most of the good friends I continue to connect with are from high school at Greenhills.”

In addition to Greenhills academics and activities, Reese kept busy with ballet class outside of school. After graduation she went on to study at Fordham University and George Washington University. But it was her Greenhills senior project that really set her future path.

Perennially interested in international travel and experiences, Reese reached out to a Greenhills alum living in Jordan for her senior project and ended up visiting the country for 10 days while shadowing her at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and her husband, who was a Foreign Service Officer there.

“I was instantly drawn to this lifestyle of public servants working and living abroad and it really sparked this idea and goal for myself, even though I knew it was a rigorous career to pursue,” said Reese.

The intense U.S. Department of State Foreign Service application process includes a written portion followed by an oral examination, which if successful lands the applicant on a ranked list. In April of 2023 Reese was called off the register, and after several months of training in Washington D.C., she began her first tour as a Foreign Service Officer in Monterrey, Mexico, in February 2024.

“I’ve been in Monterrey for about nine months, and like all newbie diplomats I work on the visa line at the consulate, which facilitates American citizen services and visas for travel to and from the United States,” shared Reese. “Monterrey is a really large, super modern and industrial city, with lots of young people, universities, nightlife, gyms, and great hiking.”

The consulate owns most of the properties that staffers live in with their American co-workers, and Reese says she has to be mindful of getting out of the American bubble:

“One thing I’m really enjoying is the opportunities we have to meet with students in Monterrey. It’s wonderful to see how alike high schoolers are around the world and it’s fun to hear about their lives while they practice their English.”

She’s also able to continue to take ballet class regularly at a couple of studios nearby.

After two years in Mexico, Reese will embark on her next tour—at the State Department in Washington, D.C. Regardless of where she is in the world, she looks forward to paying it forward as an alum and encourages Greenhills students or alums to connect with her if they are interested in learning more about the U.S. Foreign Service.