UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Xiomara Larkin is a fourth-year Penn State student majoring in political science and minoring in history. She began her journey at Penn State York for two years before finishing her degree at Penn State University Park. Along the way, she has built a resume filled with student government leadership and political internships — real-world experiences to prepare her for a career in foreign service.

When she graduates in May, Larkin will also earn a master of public policy degree through one of the 25 integrated undergraduate-graduate degree programs in the College of the Liberal Arts.

“I’m leveraging the master of public policy degree because it gives me core skills that set me ahead of the trend,” Larkin said. “Having a political science degree gives you the base knowledge, and the master’s program is teaching me additional skills — like coding and statistics — and how to apply political science theories to the real world. It’s taking my education up another level.”

Larkin, who is from San Francisco, had dreamt of attending college abroad, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she instead looked at East Coast colleges. After searching, she knew Penn State would be a great fit, she said.

“Coming to Penn State was honestly one of the best decisions I've ever made in my entire life,” Larkin said. “Moving here opened so many doors and opportunities for me. Along with just being able to see other ways people live, especially coming from California.”

During her time at Penn State York, Larkin’s interest in student government emerged as she served as a senator and liaison for the Student Government Association. Larkin also served on the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments.

Larkin’s dedication to the Student Government Association led to her election as president. She aimed to create a space for students to provide feedback as well as empower members to present their ideas to the University. At University Park, Larkin is a member of the Next Gen Leadership Academy and vice president of the Public Policy Association — both housed within the School of Public Policy.

“I learned a lot about leadership and working with others which is why I think the most important thing is you are who your team is,” said Larkin about her position. “Relying on my executive board, relying on the members inside the organization, to help push Student Government Association goals forward was very valuable to me.”

In summer 2023, Larkin expanded her advocacy work as an intern with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation for the U.S. House of Representatives. The foundation aims to have more representation in Congress at the staff level by creating a network of resources for underrepresented groups.

Larkin focused on college-level outreach to provide students the opportunity to work on the Hill. Her goal was to bring in diverse political perspectives to help bridge the gap in representation through students. Throughout her internship, Larkin worked closely with the Foreign Affairs Committee, which sparked her interest in foreign affairs and international relations.

Motivated by her previous internship experience, Larkin interned this past summer at the Bureau of Legislative Affairs within the U.S. Department of State.

“I got to learn a lot about international politics, policy, how we work domestically, how we work with the government at large to help push international interests and how we help people internationally and domestically, too,” Larkin said about her internship experience.

Larkin’s internships inspired her future career aspirations to be a foreign service officer and represent the United States abroad. She hopes to work for a few years in Washington, D.C., before attending law school and becoming a foreign service officer.